A woman has shared her experience of living on an island that won’t see sunlight for almost another 3 months.
/Cecilia Blomdahl
31 year old Cecilia Blomdahl lives on an island so close to the north pole that for at least another 2 and a half months, she’ll be locked in something called polar night.
She shared this experience on TikTok, and lives in a cabin near a village with her boyfriend. Life seems very different for Cecilia compared to most people, as she shares the area with Polar Bears who also live nearby, and she has to travel to the local village to have access to running water.
When asked by media about her life on the island, she said: “The polar night begins in November, that is when the sun is below the horizon for the entire 24 hours per day. This means that we get no daylight what so ever and the polar night lasts for approximately 2.5 months.
“It is very easy to lose your daily rhythm during this time as there is nothing telling your body when it is daytime. I find a wake up light helps out a lot for getting up in the morning and telling your body it’s daytime.
“And also eating vitamin D, nutritious food and working out is, for me, vital during this time of year. I know of many people who have by mistake gone to work in the middle of the night because they took an afternoon nap, woke up at 8pm but thought they slept the night and it’s 8am they’ve gone to work.”
She continued: “If you ask many of the locals you will hear many saying that this is the best time of year.
“A lot of us, including me, find this a time to relax, take it easy and life just moves at a slower pace here these months. It’s very peaceful and quiet, and the northern lights dancing above your head any hour of the day is just magical.
“I think everyone could do with a bit of a polar night in their year. A time to remove some stress, and focus on the peace and quiet.”
The island she lives on, Svalbard, is a norwegian territory very close to the north pole. And at the moment, temperatures will be averaging at around -10°c to -20°c.
Obviously living in such extreme and unfamiliar conditions isn’t for everyone, but if you do want to go there, it’s a expensive and long 26 hour flight from the UK, so keep that in mind!
You can watch the video from her TikTok below.
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZSbvGFJ1/
