 Sunrise * Sunset |
Sunrise * Sunset |
October 10, 2008Arcticulates ®Focusing on Alaska's BeautyAuthor: K. FieldsSunrise * SunsetEven though we experience a lot darkness days in the winter, we do have a few hours of daylight in the area that we live, but the sunrise and sunsets more then make up for the dimly lit day-time hours. A Sight to Wake-Up To
In some areas of Alaska... like Barrow, the sun goes down around the 18th of November and they won't see it again until near the end of January, no sun whatsoever. It has that dark twilight effect a few hours a day while the sun is just below the horizon. Then near the end of January, the days start getting longer about 9 minutes a day, till they end up with 24 hours of sunlight in the summer months. In the Interior of Alaska where I live, during the middle winter months the days are dark until around 10-10:30 in the morning and then are dark again by 3:00-3:30 in the afternoon, so our school children get on the bus in the dark in the morning, and get off the bus in the dark after school.The funny thing is even though that is 5 hours of daylight, the lighting is actually similar to the twilight lighting just before sun-up or sun-down. It does not start to get brighter until around the end of January as the days start growing longer again. A Rare Winter Sight Sunlit Mountain Tops with the Moon Shining
Vitamin D is a well known deficiency in areas where the sunlight is hard to come by. There are several ways that Alaskans can keep getting the amounts of Vitamin D that our bodies need, and that is take a supplement and/or purchase and set up in your home the special full spectrum lighting that helps replace the missing sunlight that we need. Or as quite a few Alaskans do, leave Alaska during it's darker months and visit a nice sunny place. A Taste of Sunshine Shining Through Frosty Trees
While researching Vitamin D and all it can do for us I found this interesting article. Here is an excerpt taken from: Vitamin D Council: If one regularly avoids sunlight exposure, research indicates a necessity to supplement with at least 5,000 units (IU) of vitamin D daily. To obtain this amount from milk one would need to consume 50 glasses. With a multivitamin more than 10 tablets would be necessary. Neither is advisable. The skin produces approximately 20,000 IU sun exposure—100 times more than the US government's recommendation of 200 IU per day! There are 3 ways for adults to insure adequate levels of vitamin D: Regularly receive midday sun exposure in the late spring, summer, and early fall, exposing as much of the skin as possible. Regularly use a sun bed (avoiding sunburn) during the colder months. Take 5,000 IU per day for three months, then obtain a 25-hydroxyvitamin D test. Adjust your dosage so that blood levels are between 50–80 ng/mL (or 125–200 nM/L)year around. Breathtaking Ending to a Winter's Day
So In the meantime, as the extremely ultra busy summer and fall days wind down, I start dosing up on my vitamin D and other vitamins daily, I try not to think of the literally "dark days" ahead. Most Alaskans are use to the routine and we find things to do to occupy the long winter days, since it seems to be the time to rest up, catch up on some reading, and other indoor things that need to be done. We tend to dwell on the thoughts of spring, and yet we find joy in the beautiful, dark, and frosty days ahead.. Later... K Fields See also: When Darkness Prevails
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