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Rainy day blahs
Oct. 29th, 2012 12:53 pmWhile my daily dose of 2000 IU of Vitamin D3 keeps the worst of SAD away during the winter, a solid string of rainy days can have an effect. We're on the third day straight of grey skies and rain, and I'm feeling it.
It occurs to me that this is reasonable, though. Imagine you're a hunter-gatherer stuck in a string of rainy days. You have a reasonably safe shelter. What's the better strategy? To keep moving and looking for new sources of food, or to hunker down and sleep through most of the foul weather, coming out just enough to grab a quick bite of whatever's close?
Either strategy might work, but it would really depend on the terrain as to which made more sense. Certainly, in a cold and bleak environment (such as, say, northern Europe), it might be much more sensible to conserve calories by napping through the bad weather than to slog through bad terrain looking for enough food to keep going.
Of course, I have often described myself as a "low energy" individual. I need a fair amount of sleep to stay healthy. Trying to keep up with other people's schedules can stress me to the point of physical pain if I do it long enough. I am often one of the slower people in a backpacking group, even when I'm in shape. For me, the best strategy is usually the one involving getting enough rest. I don't know how common this is in modern life.
It occurs to me that this is reasonable, though. Imagine you're a hunter-gatherer stuck in a string of rainy days. You have a reasonably safe shelter. What's the better strategy? To keep moving and looking for new sources of food, or to hunker down and sleep through most of the foul weather, coming out just enough to grab a quick bite of whatever's close?
Either strategy might work, but it would really depend on the terrain as to which made more sense. Certainly, in a cold and bleak environment (such as, say, northern Europe), it might be much more sensible to conserve calories by napping through the bad weather than to slog through bad terrain looking for enough food to keep going.
Of course, I have often described myself as a "low energy" individual. I need a fair amount of sleep to stay healthy. Trying to keep up with other people's schedules can stress me to the point of physical pain if I do it long enough. I am often one of the slower people in a backpacking group, even when I'm in shape. For me, the best strategy is usually the one involving getting enough rest. I don't know how common this is in modern life.
