CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — It's not just the time that changes this weekend — it might also be how you feel.
"These past couple of days I've been waking up later, seeing less sunlight, and I can definitely feel my mental health taking a toll," Drew Schnebs, Texas A&M CC Student, said.
Drew Schnebs is a student at Texas A&M Corpus Christi. He tells me this time of year is hard for him, especially as the sun begins to set.
"Some days I don't even see the sun. And I definitely feel a lot less energized and I just don't feel like myself," Schnebs said.
I ran into another student on campus, Lesly Vega, who feels the same way.
"Oh, we are going through something! We're trying to get our studies up," Lesly Vega, Texas A&M CC Student, said.
She says she feels stressed.
"Stressful, sadness, and sometimes anger cause our teachers wouldn't understand," Vega said.
So she plays sports outside to stay busy.
"Just to like, get outta that," Vega said.
And she's not alone.
According to Psychology.org, roughly 5% of adults in the U.S. experience Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as SAD. People often experience changes and symptoms similar to depression.
I spoke with Dr. Chris Leeth, the Assistant Professor of Counseling, about why this happens.
He tells me the lack of sunlight causes a drop in "happy hormones" like serotonin, and that time switch throws off your body's clock.
"There's this shift so. I would eat differently, or go to sleep at a different time," Dr. Chris Leeth, Assistant Professor of Counseling, said.
And when those feelings hit, he says finding a new routine, diet, and upping your vitamin D intake is helpful since it can take 30 to 60 days for your body to fully adapt.
"Your body is just trying to maintain itself but with that much change. Your body is trying to catch up very quickly," Leeth said.
So I asked Drew about his preference.
"Would you prefer the extra hour of sleep and less sunlight, or would you prefer for everything right now to just stay the same? Everything right now to stay the same. I like everything staying the same. I don't like change," he said.
"This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy."
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
Catch all the KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page. Subscribe today!
