It’s finally here, March Madness and I’m not talking about collegiate basketball tournaments and NCAA brackets, no, I’m referring to the time of year, especially in the northern hemisphere, when a number of celestial and biological phenomenon align. First, the sun shines directly on the equator creating the Equinox when day and night are illuminated equally. In March it’s the Vernal or Spring Equinox this year officially on March 20. Tonight however, before we go to bed we set our clocks ahead one hour and spring forward to enjoy additional daylight. We lose an hour’s sleep and it may take us awhile for our circadian clocks to adjust, yet it is always worth the effort.
Astronomical clock. www.kuriositas.com
The “madness” some of us are experiencing are the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The U.S. National Library of Medicine notes that “some people experience a serious mood change when the seasons change. They may sleep too much, have little energy, and may also feel depressed. Though symptoms can be severe, they usually clear up.”
Spring fever* also describes a series of symptoms as our bodies adjust to the changing season. We may be fatigued at first and then experience an increased restlessness, a desire to move, an increase in appetite, especially sexual. We are awakened again as melatonin levels decrease and are energized as the days become longer in springtime.
The body readjusts its hormone levels, and more endorphins, testosterone, and estrogen are released. Serotonin, the “happiness hormone” which is depleted in the winter, is recharged again with the growing daylight.
The restorative effects of daylight
Spring Fever
Spring tides ebb and flow
surge and crest,
flowering bulbs begin
to inch their way to daylight,
dormancy ends as shoots
break through the frost line
while the sun’s infrared heat
vibrates with a frequency that
radiates energy, liquefying
winter’s frozen mantle.
You can smell the earth,
the vernal muskiness of life awakening.
I wake earlier too and rise before dawn
to see the morning light in pink
and periwinkle hues, wispy clouds
like crinoline scrims across the horizon.
As the sun shines directly on the equator,
day and night become equal, the Spring Equinox arrives.
An itchy restlessness overcomes me;
it’s time to be reborn,
rethink my choices, ask the big questions,
the who am I, where am I’m going,
what does it all mean — mind wandering,
soul wondering, seeking.
The natural world ignites
my limbic brain like match to wick.
I’m fired up. I burn brighter,
as body memories spark emotions,
motivate movement.
My body craves raw foods, nuts and seeds,
leafy vegetables, red meat.
I forage for the fuel to drive me.
Desires and appetites grow unsated,
I want, I want, I want.
I am, I am
alive.
Linda Lenzke
* Elvis Presley sings “Spring Fever” from the 1964 film Girl Happy.