Latest news with #winterSolstice
RNZ News
14 hours ago
- Science
- RNZ News
The winter solstice in New Zealand is today. Here's how the shorter days of winter can affect your sleep patterns
By Georgie Hewson , ABC Photo: Unsplash+ Australia and New Zealand will have their "shortest day of the year" today as the Southern Hemisphere experiences the winter solstice. Where you are will determine just how much daylight you will get. The shortest day of the year can also impact your sleep. Here's what that means. Saturday, 21 June. According to , the exact moment the Southern Hemisphere is at its furthest tilt from the Sun will be at 2.42 pm (NZT). While the winter solstice is referred to as the shortest day and longest night of the year, it just means it is the day with the least amount of daylight hours. That's because it's when the Southern Hemisphere is at its furthest tilt away from the Sun, meaning we get less sunlight. At the same time, the Northern Hemisphere will be experiencing the summer solstice, which is the longest day of the year. This happens because the Earth tilts at about 23 degrees, meaning that when one side is closest to the Sun, the other side is furthest away. As the Earth does a lap around the Sun each year, different parts of the planet get more sunlight than others. The Earth's slight tilt is what gives us our seasons. Photo: Supplied / Bureau of Meteorology, Australia After Saturday, each day's total sunlight hours will get a fraction longer than the previous day until we reach the summer solstice on 22 December. According to the astronomical definition of the seasons, the winter solstice in some places marks the beginning of winter. But in Australia and New Zealand, where only meteorological seasons are observed, this is not the case. That's why the beginning of winter is 1 June here. In some cultures, the winter solstice is celebrated as a time of rebirth because the days get longer. Because it is getting dark so early and the days are shorter, some people may experience changes in their sleep schedule and quality. Elise McGlashan, from the University of Melbourne's John Trinder Sleep Laboratory, said shorter days and longer nights mean less sunlight, which can change circadian rhythms. The circadian rhythm is the internal body clock that regulates sleep. Photo: AFP/Alexander Farnsworth "Those changes in sleep can also be accompanied by changes in timings and function of our internal clock, and the function of our clock is mainly driven by environmental light exposure," she said. "In summer, we know the sun might be up until it's close to someone's bedtime, and part of the reason people are sleeping a little longer is they aren't getting those light cues when they're trying to wind down. "But during winter, there is less light and more time to wind down." When there is less light exposure, the body produces more melatonin - a hormone that makes people feel sleepy - and less serotonin, which can lower mood and energy, leading to feeling tired or sluggish. As the sun comes up later, it may be tempting to sleep longer, but oversleeping can also impact health. McGlashan recommends getting outside for some sunlight during the day and letting sunlight into your bedroom in the mornings if possible. "Our rhythms need bright days and dark nights," she said. "It can be hard to motivate ourselves to go outside in winter, particularly in a really chilly location, but even on those overcast days, the light outside is going to be brighter than indoor lighting. "It's still really helpful for your body clock and sleep to get outdoor lighting every day." - ABC
ABC News
17 hours ago
- Health
- ABC News
The winter solstice in Australia is today. Here's how the shorter days of winter can affect your sleep patterns
Australia will have its "shortest day of the year" today as the southern hemisphere experiences the winter solstice. Where you are in Australia will determine just how much daylight you will get. The shortest day of the year can also impact your sleep. Here's what that means. Saturday, June 21. According to the exact moment the southern hemisphere is at its furthest tilt from the Sun will be at 12:42pm AEST. While the winter solstice is referred to as the shortest day and longest night of the year, it actually just means it is the day with the least amount of daylight hours. That's because it's when the southern hemisphere is at its furthest tilt away from the Sun, meaning we get less sunlight. At the same time, the northern hemisphere will be experiencing the summer solstice, which is the longest day of the year. This happens because the Earth tilts at about 23 degrees, meaning that when one side is closest to the Sun, the other side is furthest away. As the Earth does a lap around the Sun each year, different parts of the planet get more sunlight than others. After Saturday, each day's total sunlight hours will get a fraction longer than the previous day until we reach the summer solstice on December 22. According to the astronomical definition of the seasons, the winter solstice in some places marks the beginning of winter. But in Australia, where only meteorological seasons are observed, this is not the case. That's why the beginning of winter is June 1 here. In some cultures, the winter solstice is celebrated as a time of rebirth because the days get longer. Because it is getting dark so early and the days are shorter, some people may experience changes in their sleep schedule and quality. Elise McGlashan, from the University of Melbourne's John Trinder Sleep Laboratory, says shorter days and longer nights mean less sunlight, which can change circadian rhythms. The circadian rhythm is the internal body clock that regulates sleep. "Those changes in sleep can also be accompanied by changes in timings and function of our internal clock and the function of our clock is mainly driven by environmental light exposure," she says. "In summer, we know the sun might be up until it's close to someone's bedtime, and part of the reason people are sleeping a little longer is they aren't getting those light cues when they're trying to wind down. "But during winter, there is less light and more time to wind down." When there is less light exposure, the body produces more melatonin — a hormone that makes people feel sleepy — and less serotonin, which can lower mood and energy, leading to feeling tired or sluggish. As the sun comes up later, it may be tempting to sleep longer but oversleeping can also impact health. Dr McGlashan recommends getting outside for some sunlight during the day and letting sunlight into your bedroom in the mornings if possible. "Our rhythms need bright days and dark nights," she says. "It can be hard to motivate ourselves to go outside in winter, particularly in a really chilly location, but even on those overcast days, the light outside is going to be brighter than indoor lighting. "It's still really helpful for your body clock and sleep to get outdoor lighting every day."
ABC News
2 days ago
- Climate
- ABC News
Winter solstice is on Saturday but it won't bring Australia's coldest weather
This Saturday is the 2025 winter solstice, Australia's shortest day of the year. How many hours of daylight you experience depends entirely on latitude — Hobart will see only 9 hours and 1 minute while Darwin will see 11 hours and 24 minutes. For remaining capitals, running south to north: The variation in the length of day through the year, and indeed the very existence of seasons, is due to the Earth's tilt of 23.5 degrees. As we orbit the Sun, this tilt leads to changes in the length of day and the angle of the Sun viewed from the ground — it's higher in summer and lower in winter. Saturday, the winter solstice, marks the day when the Sun is furthest north, tracking directly over the Tropic of Cancer. The exact time of this year's solstice is 12:42pm for eastern states and just after midday for the NT and SA, meaning the longest night of the year will follow immediately after. For WA, a 10:42am solstice will result in Friday night being the longest of the year. From this position over the Northern Hemisphere, Australia is not only in Earth's shadow for the longest period, but critically for temperatures, it's also when the Sun's noon position is lowest in the sky. From a simple energy perspective, the winter solstice therefore has the least amount of incoming heat directly from sunlight. However, for nearly the whole of Australia, the coldest weather does not arrive when the days are shortest. For the vast majority of the country, the coldest month is July, and for some locations, the coldest day on average is not until early August, even though days are longer and the Sun's angle is higher. The cause of the temporal anomaly between the shortest day and coldest temperatures is due to the different heat capacities of substances. Put simply, land regions warm up and cool down much faster than oceans. This property is demonstrated daily as air temperatures fluctuate sharply between day and night, while water temperatures remain steady regardless of the hour. Water, therefore, is said to have a greater heat capacity than land, which leads to an annual minimum temperature for waters surrounding Australia occurring mostly between July and September — well after the Southern Hemisphere's shortest day in June. The warmer oceans earlier in winter act as one giant heater — they transfer energy into the atmosphere and delay the coldest weather until well after incoming heat from the sun reaches a minimum on June 21. This delay is called seasonal lag, and it also occurs after the summer solstice in December, with the hottest weather in southern Australia not arriving until January. The coldest weather in any given year is determined by the exact timing of weather systems; however, on average, due to seasonal lag, it occurs a few weeks after the winter solstice. The delay is greatest in regions where the climate is influenced by neighbouring oceans — so coastal areas of southern Australia have a longer temperature lag than inland regions. For maximum temperatures, the absolute peak lag is about five weeks in south-west Tasmania and on the southern WA coast near Albany. For Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide the coldest day of the year — on average — lands in the second or third week of July. Unsurprisingly, parts of the central interior, well away from oceans, have a lag of only a few days. The seasonal changes in daytime temperatures across northern Australia are more intricate due to the contrast in cloud cover through the year — there are even small regions that have their average lowest winter maximums a few days before the winter solstice. The national variability in minimum temperatures is far more uniform, with well over 90 per cent of Australia, including the northern tropics, having its coldest night between July 11 and 21. Seasonal lag is even greater in some Northern Hemisphere coastal regions, depending on the time of year. San Francisco's warmest month of the year is not until September, a full three months after the summer solstice, during which time the length of day has already shortened by more than two hours. Of course, thanks to the natural variability of weather, the actual date of the coldest weather will vary considerably from year to year — even though this is far more likely to occur in winter. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, for the northern tropics, the coldest day of the year across a 30-year period can occur in most months. For most of southern and central Australia, the range is from April or May to anytime between August and November.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Australia braces for the darkest week of the year during the winter solstice
Millions of Australians will shiver through the darkest week of the year as the annual winter solstice approaches this weekend. The southern hemisphere's winter solstice on Saturday, June 21, marks the shortest day and longest night of the year based on the time between sunrise and sunset. The three days before and after the solstice will contribute to a seven-day period with the least amount of daylight for the year. Hobart will have the shortest day, while Darwin will have the longest. The sun will rise at 7.42am in the island state and set at 4.43pm, while in Darwin, the sun will come up at 3.36am and set at 6pm. Darwin's day length will be 11 hours and 24 minutes compare to just nine hours and one minute in Hobart. Each hemisphere has a winter solstice, spaced six months apart. The southern hemisphere marks the winter solstice when the sun appears to be at the lowest point in the sky when viewed from the equator. The days will slowly begin to get longer and the nights shorter in the next six months until the summer solstice arrives in Australia between December 21 and 22. The solstice is caused by Earth's tilt on its axis and its orbital motion around the sun. The Earth is tilted on its axis by 23.5degrees with the tilt allowing northern and southern hemispheres to trade places in receiving the sun's light and warmth. It's the Earth's tilt, not its distance from the sun, that causes winter and summer.
