Sunshine Season

Imagine months full of sunshine, no homework, and a break from your alarm every morning. What could be better? Just picture a perfect day of trying out a new ice cream flavor and singing off-key to songs at a barbeque with friends. Summer has always been one of my favorite seasons for those exact reasons. 

Sunshine. According to a 2018 Forbes article, sunlight exposure boosts serotonin levels in your body, which is often referred to as the happiness hormone. The vitamin D that you get from sunlight also strengthens your immune system, lowers your blood pressure, and improves sleep. The sun’s positioning during summer causes higher concentrations of sunlight reaching the Earth’s surface which is why there is higher sunlight levels in summer. You also get more opportunities to go outside and enjoy the weather during the break. 

Speaking of happiness, if school has you strung up lately, then summer gives you a chance to destress and relax. Summer gives you the opportunity to destress and gives you freedom from school assigned homework. One Challenge Success study found that high school students do an average of 2.7 hours of homework per weeknight. This isn’t even including the eight hours of school that is already taken out of our day. That means that you have an extra 11.7 hours in a day to binge-watch the newest netflix show, tan at the beach with friends, and pick up a random hobby just for fun. 

The simple bliss of waking up and getting to sleep in is one of the best feelings. During the school year, I often find myself praying for the weekend and extra hours in a day to get more sleep and summer gives me that opportunity. Talking about happiness, if school has you strung up lately, then summer gives you a change to destress and relax. According to a Johns Hopkins article, teenagers should get 9 to 9 ½ hours of sleep each night. On average, the largest percentage of West High students only get 7-8 hours. In addition, school/homework was the biggest contributor to not getting the healthy amount. Sleep is extremely important for a teen’s mental and physical health, with studies showing that it can even boost the immune system. This means that summer provides a safe haven for sleep which is purely too good of a bonus. 

So, who could ever dislike the best, in my opinion, season? As summer quickly approaches, I recently came to the realization that there are people who actively hate it. Some common reasons are car seats burning up to cook an egg, insects, and sunburns. However, qualms with car seats can be easily solved with car window covers. There are also many ways to combat pesky insects that come your way while relaxing in the sun. Just apply some buy spray and you’re all set to continue having fun. Drenched in sweat or suffering sunburns? Head to the pool to cool off, or prepare ahead of time and keep a tube of sunscreen with you at all times. Even with the winter months offering a tantalizing holiday season, in summer, every single day is a holiday. Additionally, you don’t have to deal with the ache in your back after shoveling pounds of snow that Iowa weather gifts us each year. 

Even if this failed to convince you that summer is the best season, I hope that it helped you see some of the positives of the sunshine season. Make sure that you’re taking advantage of the vitamin D, extra sleep, and less stress this summer and have fun! By the transitive property in math (but I wouldn’t know, since I missed that day of class), summer = happiness.