New city? New life? The Winter Blues

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Winter. For most people it is rather like Marmite: they either love it or hate it. I, however, am going to stick myself out there on the fence. I neither spend all year longing for dark, dreary days, nor do I loathe the constant chill in the air.

Winter has its advantages; it kills unwanted vermin for one - extremely helpful if, like me, you live in a mice-infested abode. It also boasts those uniquely English days, when the sun is shining brightly in the sky, yet a woolly winter coat is still a necessary defence against the cold outside.

My problem with this divisive season is that said wonderful days just don't come often enough. A tentative glance through the curtains each morning is all too frequently greeted by winter's haunting signature, miasmic grey, which succeeds only in suppressing any optimism I may have, replacing it with a feeling of stoic sadness.

These winter blues are increasingly an everyday occurrence for students. The hours the student species keeps are less aligned with daylight hours than ever during Greenwich Mean Time. When the sun rises around 7am, rather than engaging in a spot of early morning exercise or even making any kind of coherent communication, we are more likely to be spotted snug in our beds, endlessly striving for the most desirable of all states, sleep. It's probable when we do finally rise a good few hours of daylight have been wasted and night is about to fall. Then, what disappears along with the light is our sanity.

Maybe this is our own fault. Or maybe it shouldn't actually be called Daylight Saving Time because it doesn't actually save any daylight time. Or maybe we should all just stop moaning about time zones and focus on our work. This is very easy to say, but rather more challenging to put into practice. That lack of exposure to sunlight, mounting tonnes of work, the endless torture of pending assignments and the daily hassles of having to eat and drink properly as well as exercise adequately - not to mention sustaining an active social life - are taking their toll.

This nagging depression, which can easily eat away at any perfectly sane student, is a reality that often passes unchecked - not only by friends, family and university, but also by the individual themselves. My love/hate relationship with winter is unceasing because I always find myself trapped between revelling in the absence of unpleasant odours you endure outdoors during the sweaty summer months, and languishing in a metaphorical prison from which I cannot see beyond the realm of my own room.

Make sure you don't fall foul of winter's dark side. Contact all those long lost friends you've been meaning to speak to for months, treat yourself to a new haircut or a meal out, or, better still, make use of that gym membership card which has lain untouched since you joined. Now more than ever remember that being active encourages a positive state of mind.

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