The sun’ll come out tomorrow.

Or the next day. Or maybe the day after that. Here’s hoping.

We are amidst that lovely part of the winter season where it seems like we may never see green grass and sunshine on the same day. You can feel the tension of the vast majority of Michiana — those of us who forget every year why we ever decided to live in a place where we spend a third of our year scraping windshields and dodging ice patches.

The snow is a bit more tolerable early in the season, especially during the hustle and bustle of the holidays. It’s hard to be mad at snow when you are curled up with a cup of cocoa listening to Burl Ives and passing presents.

After we put the tinsel away, though, that fluffy white stuff becomes more of a nuisance, and the unpredictability of winter weather wreaks havoc on our daily lives (nine snow days is enough to make anyone go crazy!).

I think the worst part about a lingering winter in southwest Michigan is that we are often given tantalizing previews of warmer days to  come. Temperatures heat up and we think, “that was the last of it!” But sure enough, a day or two later, we wake up to icy roads, snow covered cars and freezing temperatures, leaving us wonder, “will spring ever come for good?”

The longer winter drags on, the more sluggish we feel. It gets harder and harder to get out of bed. We feel sad about things that usually would not make us feel sad. We may be extra irritable and have a harder time motivating ourselves to get up and move around.

While a lot of this can be attributed to being cooped up inside, scientists have proven that an increase of melatonin in the body can be attributed to the winter blues. Psychology Today says melatonin is a hormone that regulates sleep, and it is produced by darkness — so as we have less and less sunshine, we have more and more melatonin, which makes us tired.

Other causes of Seasonal Affective Disorder (how apropos is it that this is literally called “SAD?”) is a Vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D controls serotonin, which plays a huge role in our moods. Sunshine helps produce Vitamin D, so not being out in the sun as much can reduce our Vitamin D levels.

As much as we may like to, we cannot control the sunshine. As most of us have chosen to live in this unstable weather environment, we have two options: We can continue feeling sad and sleepy, or we can do something about it.

Psychology Today suggests working out, taking advantage of available sunlight, scheduling pleasurable activities (anything that makes you happy!), and being ultra-self-aware of your mood and energy level.

Philosophically speaking, checking in with ourselves and acknowledging our behavior goes a long way. Simply realizing that we are being a grouch tends to make most of us adjust our attitudes.

Perhaps the best way to beat those winter blues, however, is to step outside and listen for the birds chirping, a sure sign that although it may not seem like it, the sun will come out tomorrow.

Or maybe the next day.

Ambrosia Neldon is the general manager at Leader Publications. She can be reached by phone at (269) 687-7700 or by email at ambrosia.neldon@leaderpub.com