Although relatively few people suffer from the full effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), as many as a third of the population are estimated to feel miserable during the long, cold winter nights. And the main reason for this is simply down to the lack of sunlight.
It has been known for a number of years now that the sun affects people’s moods, and as daylight decreases in the winter months, many people experience a mental ‘dip’. And it’s this seasonal mental dip that is leading an increasing amount of people to take their main holiday out with the normal summer months, as a means of providing some respite from the dark, wintry nights.
A popular location for many people seeking to escape the winter blues is Florida. Aptly known as the ‘sunshine state’, Florida experiences good weather all year round, and has been a fashionable winter and summer destination for US and international visitors for many years.
Florida is unique among other US states, in that it is a peninsula which means it is surrounded by water, with the Gulf of Mexico to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, encapsulating over 1000 miles of coastline. And as with anywhere that is surrounded by water, there is mile upon mile of fantastic beaches to enjoy.
Daytona Beach is a wonderful year-round resort area that is often referred to as being ‘the world’s most famous beach’, attracting 8 million visitors each year, with an equally impressive array of places to stay, meaning finding a suitable
hotel in Daytona beach should be hassle-free.
The city is also renowned for its motorsports, being the home of the Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 mile tri-oval race track with a capacity to hold 168,000 spectators. It hosts the famous Daytona 500, which is a 200 lap/500 mile NASCAR race held annually, and is regarded by many as the most important race in the NASCAR calendar
Of course, Florida has much more to offer than sun, sand and speedway. Disney World - perhaps one of the most famous resorts in the world - is located in Orlando, a mere 50 miles from Daytona Beach.
Disney World is the benchmark for what most other resorts strive for. A sprawling metropolis in its own right, it was once the size of San Francisco and receives tens of millions of visitors every year. Perhaps its most famous area is Disney’s Hollywood Studios, consisting of five themed areas contained within a mass of streets and buildings, with rides, shows, restaurants and many more star attractions all fighting for the attention of the throngs of people that visit each day.
As the self-proclaimed ‘Sunshine State’, it’s not difficult to see why so many people choose to descend upon Florida’s sandy shores each year. With year-round warm weather, mile upon mile of shoreline and some of the world’s most prestigious attractions, there is sure to be no shortage of activities to help blow those winter cobwebs away.
