This Michigan City Has Only Had 5 Minutes Of Sunshine This Month

The new year in Michigan has been off to a bit of a deary start. It's snowy, cold and the skies are overcast. Much of Michigan has barely gotten any sunshine recently, making it difficult to differentiate from morning and afternoon.

In fact, the United States National Weather Service shared on their social media yesterday (January 5) there have only been five minutes of sunshine in Grand Rapids for January so far. “In the first 5 days of January, we have recorded 5 minutes of sunshine in southeast Grand Rapids, they said.

If that little factoid wasn't grim enough, they also noted that last mostly sunny day in Grand Rapids was over a month ago on December 4, and the last half-sunny day was December 28. But as they say, every cloud has a silver lining. The National Weather Service added, “There’s hope for some sunshine this Saturday and Sunday.”

One way to battle the cloudy weather is by getting yourself a special lamp called a light box and sitting by it for around 30 minutes every morning. The light produced by the lamp simulated the sunlight that people miss during the winter months. "It's thought the light may improve SAD by encouraging your brain to reduce the production of melatonin (a hormone that makes you sleepy) and increase the production of serotonin (a hormone that affects your mood)," according to the National Health Service.