Hej!
Well, after posting my first entry, I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful it was outside. Yes, it’s November and the sky is as blue as could be. That is not usual for November; in 2009 we had something like 17 hours of total sunlight in the month of November. We know November as the “dark month” in Sweden.
This utterly depressing fact means that Swedes appreciate any shred of sunlight that they can get their skin on.
And with that, I present the first #TrulySwedish fun fact. How do you know you’re truly Swedish? Well, when you are walking outside and see the sun shining, you will stop everything you are doing, put your grocery/shopping bags down, and position your body towards the sun and let your vitamin-D starved skin enjoy a little bit of the UVA/UVB rays. For at least 5 minutes. Nevermind that people are trying to walk by you to get to the tunnelbana station!
Kind of reminds me of that scene in the new V series where all the aliens get their renewed sense of loyalty to Anna, the head of the alien race. 🙂
We learned that multiple sclerosis (demyelination of the neurons) is both an environmental and genetic disease. There have been epidemiological studies that have found MS to be more prevalent in areas that are further away from the equator (less sun exposure). Individuals who move from an area of low risk to an area of high risk end up with similar risk as those who live there. So, get your vitamin D whenever you can, esp. in the dark wintery months of Sweden! (of course, this isn’t the only reason, but one of the many proposed mechanisms.) Plus it’s good for your bones.