A Need for More Light

I’ve already worn my first sweater of the school year, and it’s gotten cold enough for me to comfortably wear hoodies to bed. The skies appear much darker than this past summer’s, and I often look outside to shadows instead of people. My shoes have been soaked through by unexpected rain, and my backpack has seemingly permanent wet spots from my umbrella.

As movies and outings turn into problem sets and essays, it’s easy to let the gradual tide of turning weather pull us under.

We make long, dark walks for late-night office hours, often alone and stressed, shivering and wishing we could just understand our homework from the comfort of our rooms. For many, nighttime walks are filled with unease, the dark doing little to comfort our already anxious minds. During the day, countless classrooms lack natural lighting, leaving us with the pale yellow glow of artificial bulbs to agitate our already existing headaches.

It’s no secret that, despite the excitement of future snow and cozy clothes, the colder months can have serious effects on our well-being. The loss of natural light affects our circadian rhythms, and in turn the level of available serotonin in our brains. Some of us experience trouble sleeping, mood variations, or a mix of both.

In more extreme cases, seasonal affective disorder springs depression upon around 5 percent of the American population in colder months. Seasonal depression is more common up north, where we live, likely due to the more noticeable seasonal changes. Studies have also shown that students who come from less seasonal areas are at higher risk of developing symptoms of depression in the winter, meaning we may want to pay closer attention to some of our international and southern peers during these chilly times.

Natural light is a generally good thing, as most of us know. People who chronically receive less sunlight show more fatigue and symptoms of depression on average, whereas greater outdoor exposure is associated with less anxiety. But do any of us really prioritize getting enough light for ourselves?

As we walk from lecture to section to seminar, we get exposure to natural light for only eight or so minutes at a time. If we’re lucky, we enter a small Science Center room with one large window for everyone to see out of; if we’re not, we are left in one of Harvard’s various basements.

The preservation of Harvard’s ancient buildings has left many of us learning in classrooms with dim interiors, lit only by harsh fluorescents. Even the notably more modern-looking Science Center houses countless classrooms without windows.

There is no easy fix for what unavoidably happens every year. We can’t stop the cold weather from creeping in, and with the current state of our climate, we shouldn’t seriously want to, either. So what is there to do?

I am not telling Harvard to strip down its historical buildings to construct new ones — though they certainly have the money to add more windows. Rather, I am emphasizing our need to make the most out of the sunlight we already rarely get.

Light isn’t going to magically cure us of the stressors of college life; it’s not going to take away our deadlines, our overflowing calendars, or our worries for the future. But prioritizing a little extra sunlight is still worth a shot.

The shifting weather is far too strong for my words to hold a solution, but I can still offer a small piece of advice. Try to take in the sunlight as many times as you can when the sun is still up and people are still milling about. Do homework near big windows, and, if you can, take your calls outside. Your body, and mind, might thank you.

April S. Keyes ’26, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Winthrop House.