I have talked to a few people lately who really made me think about what it’s like to live in a northern region like Iceland, Finland, or Alaska. Between the midnight sun, midday moon, northern lights, other natural wonders, I decided the details of the conversation were too interesting not to share.

Midday Moon

I went to Iceland for New Year’s Eve 2014 (into 2015). I got to the Keflavik airport at 6:30 a.m., so I was expecting it to be dark. We immediately drove straight to the Blue Lagoon, which didn’t open until 9:00 a.m., so we took a nap in the car until it opened. When James woke me up at 8:45, I was shocked that it still looked like the darkest part of the night with no one around and the lights from the Blue Lagoon barely piercing the overwhelming darkness. We went into the Blue Lagoon’s locker rooms, got changed, showered, and got ready to go into the lagoon. We went into the lagoon around 9:45, and it was still pitch black outside. Around, 11:00 a.m., it finally started to look like the sun was about to rise.

Fast forward to later that afternoon… We checked into our hotel and went out to explore. Around 3:30 p.m., the sun started to set again. By 4:00 it was dark. It was very easy to sleep in on New Years Day! It was definitely different, but I’m glad I can cross the midday moon off my bucket list. It’s pretty incredible to see what life is like when it’s dark most of the day!

Midnight Sun

The midnight sun had been on my bucket list since I saw the midday moon. So when a cheap trip to Iceland just after the summer solstice passed, I didn’t hesitate. I visited Iceland in late June, my third trip to Iceland but my first time there in summer. While I was surprised that the summer wasn’t much better in the summer than in the winter, I did get to cross something off my bucket list: the midnight sun, midday moon.

The sunset in Reykjavik around the summer solstice is about 12:20 a.m. Sunrise is about 2:40 a.m. Just south, in Vik, there is about a 15-20 minute difference in those times. The sun sets just before midnight and rises around 3:00 a.m. In Akureyri, in the north, locals say the sun doesn’t set at all on the summer solstice. Such a drastic difference for one little island country!

Now…I Have Questions?

My question is: how do people cope with the months of darkness in winter and how does it affect them to have so much daylight in summer? And the more depressing question: is it true that these northern areas have high suicide rates and alcoholism rates from seasonal depression in the winter?

A study showed that Alaska had the second highest rate of suicide in the U.S., and suicide rates in Canada and Japan are higher the more north you go.

Also, Alaska has been battling winter alcoholism for years; they recently legalized recreational marijuana use to try to lower the drinking rates. It’s now legal to grow and transport small amounts of marijuana in Alaska. It seems to have gone over well, with drinking rates dropping in the winter months and reducing suicide rates up to ten percent!

How hard is it to live in the northernmost (or southernmost) parts of the world? Endless dark deprives the body of Vitamin D (which we get mainly from sunlight). It also drains our energy faster, making us lethargic, sluggish, and inactive. Most of the time, it creates seasonal depression. If people of the North can bear the winter, they can get to the summer with lots of sun, Vitamin D, and high energy and excitement. Is it worth it?

Do you know anyone who lives in a northern or southern extreme? What would you recommend to battling the severe winter blues? Could you adapt to a region where the winters are dark and dreary and the summers are long and light? Let me know in the comments below!

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P.S. You might also like Snorkeling the Freezing Waters of Silfra, Iceland or 6 FAQs About Iceland