If you have already spent a winter up at Penn State you know that not a lot goes on. Football games are over, walking to class gets a lot colder, and you spend a lot more time stuck in your dorm room.

Over the years studies have proven that SAD or seasonal affective disorder exists. SAD is a type of depression brought on usually by cold weather. The facts are that when you stay inside for too long and are not exposed to sun light your serotonin and melatonin levels drop.   Both of these drops are caused by the change in your biological clock. Serotonin is a chemical in your brain which mainly controls your mood. If this chemical drops below normal you may being to feel anxiety and insomnia.  Melatonin is in charger of your sleep patterns. It is a chemical that anticipates your daily darkness. When both of these chemicals drop below normal it can become harmful to your health.

A new study shows that if you are feeling sad you ability to see the colors yellow and blue may be compromised. A study published in Psychological Science showed that this is true. In this study 300 college students were shown a short film that was either funny or sad. After the film was over the college students were shown pictures of colors that were mostly grey on a computer screen. The students who were shown the sad film reported seeing  saw mostly red and green colors while the students who were shown the happy film were very likely to see all of the colors correctly. So why can the sad students not see yellow and blue? Again it comes back to a chemical  deficiency. This time it has to do with dopamine in the brain. When a student feels sad or sees something sad dopamine levels drop causing the students to be unable to see the colors yellow and blue in a clear light.

When it is cold outside you spend less time in the sunlight and by doing this your body seems to always think that is night time. Chemical levels in your brain drop and you become tired all the time which in turn leads to feelings of depression.

Avoiding this can be really hard. I know of myself in the winter all you want to do is eat at Wings Over and watch Netflix but this can only put you in a greater risk for becoming depressed. Last year I even became sick a lot more in the winter because I always stuck inside. When the spring came around it felt like I had been in a tomb for a thousand years.

The best ways to combat this are to get outside. Play in the snow, try to exercise, eat healthy food, and try to get outside every day even if you have to wear 27 coats.