As the end of British Summer Time marks the start of darker days and colder weather, I know I’m not the only one who’s putting the remnants of my autumn clothes away and getting out the winter woolies.
I love summer and I would happily live in a warmer climate were it not for my sun-shy husband. For me, the end of summer brings with it a reluctant, but resigned acceptance of the cold in the months ahead.
But for many of us, the end of BST also marks the start of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). As well as low mood, sufferers also report fatigue, lack of motivation, inactivity and often increased eating, reduced libido and disturbed sleep too. Initially met with cynicism by the medical community, SAD is now widely accepted in the mainstream as a ‘thing’, with treatment available on the NHS.
Treatment is usually light therapy, using a light box, often in combination with antidepressant drug therapy. But more recently there have been studies that show how psychological therapy such as CBT can be just as effective as light therapy and also longer lasting.
So, mindset is an important factor and this can also be seen in the city of Tromso in northern Norway. Whilst SAD seems to be a general feature of the Northern Hemisphere, Linda Geddes, in her book “Chasing The Sun”, writes that Tromso bucks that trend, despite there being continuous dark for an average of 48 days from the end of November to mid January.
So how do the residents of this city do things differently? Well, it would appear to be down to them having a positive winter mindset where they see winter as a time to embrace the cosiness, where they accept that at different times of the year they do different things and where they have adapted their environment, such as having floodlit children’s playgrounds, that enable them to continue their day-to-day activities.
All of this helps to explain why CBT and therapeutic coaching styles such as my own that examine our thoughts and their relationship to our behaviour, can be as effective as light therapy in helping people overcome winter depression.
So, what can we learn from this and how can it help you if you experience SAD?
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Your Mindset Matters
What are your thoughts about winter? Take 15 minutes to write them down.
How you think about winter can make all the difference.
If you look out the window on a cold winter’s day and think: “I’ll wrap up warm and go for a brisk walk to clear the cobwebs away” you’ll not only benefit from the natural daylight that balances your circadian rhythm helping you to sleep, but you’ll also benefit from the feel-good endorphin rush that you’ll get from the exercise too.
In contrast, if you’re in the habit of looking out of the window and thinking “Urgh, I don’t want to go out there it looks dark, cold & gloomy, I’ll stay inside where it’s warm,” you’re more likely to have low energy, low mood and disturbed sleep, which reinforces the feelings of depression.
Try and reframe any negative thoughts you have about winter to neutral or positive ones and this will help you to feel better and ultimately do more, and getting your body moving will help your mood improve.
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Get some daylight
Dr Rangan Chatterjee in his book ‘The 4 Pillar Plan’ writes about embracing morning light. He recommends getting outdoors in natural daylight for just 20 minutes in the morning,
Even if it’s cloudy & dull the lighting level will usually be at least 10 times that of the artificial indoor lighting in your home or office and, on a sunny crisp November day, could be about the same as a light therapy lamp.
Whereas the low level of artificial indoor light disrupts our natural biological body clock – our circadian rhythm, exposing ourselves to daylight early in the day pulls our body clock earlier, which has significant benefits on our sleep and our mood.
There are lots of ways to get your morning sunlight: get off the bus/tube/tram/train a stop early, park a little further away, walk the kids to school, walk to the shops. Find something that will fit in easily with your routine in the morning.
Not only will the activity alone get your body moving & the endorphins flowing which will lift your mood, it’ll get you closer to your daily step count too. A win all round.
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Reduce artificial light, especially in the evening
Bright artificial light in the evening prevents the release of the body’s sleep hormone, melatonin. When we’re exposed to artificial light in the evening it pushes our body clock later, which not only has an impact on our sleep, but on our mood too. Our mood also works in a rhythm, and it naturally dips to its lowest level at around 4am, but when we push our body clock later, we push the dip in our mood later too – so we have to get up for work just at the time that there’s a huge trough in our mood. It doesn’t make a great start to the day, does it?
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Reduce or eliminate blue light
Blue light from our devices keeps us awake as it prevents the release of melatonin. A 90 minute device-free period before bed will help you to keep your body clock in its natural rhythm, but if this is a step too far then some blue light blocking glasses like these will really help too.
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Vitamin D
The best source of vitamin D is from the sun, but as there’s much less of it during the winter months a supplement could be a good idea and it helps with low mood too, but check with your GP first.
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Keep a routine
It might sound boring, but having a routine will help keep your body and mind in sync over the winter period. Good sleep hygiene (find a guide here) will help, but particularly sticking to a routine of the same bedtime and waking time will help keep your body in it’s natural cycle. The same goes for eating & exercising too. When our mood is low, it’s easy to break from routine and become more sporadic, but keeping your body’s natural rhythms in sync is hugely beneficial for sleep and to lift your mood.
If you get SAD when the clocks go back and you’d be interested in finding out more about how mindset shifts could help you be happier in winter, contact me to find out more.