As the days get darker and colder, it’s common for people to feel a bit down in the dumps. But no worries, we’ve been there. And we got your back.
Here's five proven tactics to help you combat Seasonal Affective Disorder and keep your flow going.
1 Light therapy
What better way to start off than with a straight forward and low effort solution. Sunlight is at the core of the problem, and thankfully some smart folks have figured out ways to literally supplement it.
There exist light therapy lamps which shine a bright light that mimics specific wavelengths of the sun that your body craves. It is as simple as sitting near one for 20-30 minutes per day. Ideally in the morning.
Who doesn't love just sitting around as a solution for a problem? Though we personally recommend combining this with a mindfulness or meditation session. Both of which also help reduce the negative effects of the darker times.
2 Exercise
Damn exercise, showing up everywhere you look for ways to improve your life. Well, there must be something to it then.
As we all know, regular exercise serves as a potent antidote to depression, which is kind of the topic of this blog really. Some things just bear repeating.
You probably could use more exercise (with strategic rest). Don’t let the bad weather be an excuse, you need it now more than ever.
3 Optimize your home for wellbeing
You’re going to spend more time at home, indoors. That’s a given fact of the winter days. This stresses the importance of having your home well suited for a positive mindset.
Apart from keeping your house clean and tidy, put in some effort to make things comfortable and tailored specifically to your taste. You’d best not underestimate the importance of interior design.
Try to incorporate as much natural light into your home as you can, you can even placing mirrors in a way to guide more light through the house. If you’re blessed with a fireplace, make use of it too.
4 Consistent sleep
Sleep is another one of those factors that keeps coming up when wellbeing is discussed. It’s interesting that this even has to be mentioned because sleep is likely the easiest and most comfortable way to deal with anything.
Then again, nowadays insomnia or sleep disorders are on the rise. And modern technology is designed to keep you awake and maintain your attention as long as possible.
Disruptions in your sleep pattern can be linked to a lot of things, including SAD. Try to stick to a consistent schedule where you adhere to fixed bedtime and wake-up times.
Many claim that blue light filters on your devices can help you sleep better. But similarly dimming your lights at home in general are a big factor too. Try to keep your lights dimmed as much as possible and use warm light sources to stimulate your sleep cycle.
5 Socializing
It is tough these days when it comes to socializing. Which ironically is caused by the rise of social media. This unfortunately exacerbates the effects of the darker months on people’s moods.
Be conscious about your social habits and don’t discount them as trivial. We aren’t built to be living as isolated as we do. Even if you’re an introvert, you still need some level of real world social exposure.
Your immediate family is better than nothing but in order to fight off SAD, it is best to increase the dosage of any of the things listed above, including socializing.
Fun times benefit from planning too, try to schedule at least one social outing per week to keep your human interaction levels in the green.
So in conclusion, the winter months dont have to suck as much as they do, there are relatively easy fixes. Though you may need to put in more effort just to feel worse than you do during summer. But hey, at least there’s the holidays.