Hacker News Reader

Comment by tincholio | Hacker News Reader

I grew up sleeping in pitch black darkness, and having lived now for a while in the Nordics, where summer nights are light and curtains are mediocre at best, I can share that feeling.

I wonder if the higher rates of depression here may have something to do with this (interestingly, I remember reading somewhere that suicides in the Nordics peak in Springtime).

View on HN

Second that! Curtains in Copenhagen don't blind, they blur. I think part of the reason for the spike in suicide in springtime is the hope that "things-will-be-better-in-the-light" being broken. The third monday of January has a spike in suicide as well, on account of the New Year not bring the prosperity that the excitement of december had you believe. Psychiatrists supposedly call that day blue monday.

I've lived in Norway (40 km south of Oslo for the last 32 years, generally with only light curtains. Not noticed any tendency to depression or difficulty sleeping in myself or my family.

Mind you, most hotels here that expect foreign guests have blackout blinds or at least very heavy curtains,

My first Summer in Finland, I was renting an apartment with crappy curtains. I was dead tired through May, until I broke down and duct-taped large trash bags to the windows. The difference in sleep quality was nothing short of amazing.

I have blackout curtains nowadays, and I've also gotten used to the light somewhat, but I still miss proper rolling curtains that completely shut the light out.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com