Techniques I use to combat the 'Winter Blues'

As the dark days start to come back to the UK you might be feeling sad that the Summer is officially over. What you're probably experiencing is S.A.D or Seasonal Affective Disorder, a type of depression that comes and goes in a seasonal pattern and 1 in 15 adults suffer from according to NHS Statistics.

Despite 1 in 15 adults in the UK experiencing some form of S.A.D. approximately only 12% of those are aware of it. The NHS lists the symptoms as:

a persistent low mood
a loss of pleasure or interest in normal everyday activities
Irritability
feelings of despair, guilt and worthlessness
feeling lethargic and sleepy during the day
sleeping for longer than normal and finding it hard to get up in the morning
craving carbohydrates and gaining weight

and a recent survey listed the following factors as triggers:

Cold weather: 58%
Dark mornings: 60%
Loss of sleep: 18%
Financial worries over Christmas: 25%
Loneliness: 14%
General stress: 23%

Given we've had World Mental Health day this week, I thought it'd be worth sharing some ways I find effective in combatting this Winter Slump

1. SAD Lights

I've had one of these for about 2 years but recently upgraded to the Lumie Desklamp. Honestly, I thought they'd make no difference but actually really improve my mood, energy and stop me from feeling tired throughout the day. This one sits on my desk, so provides me with light therapy as I take video calls.

For added nerdy-ness I plan on eventually automating turning the lamp on when my teams status is 'in a meeting'... just need to buy a Smart Plug!

We also invested in the Lumie Wake Up light which wakes you up by simulating sunrise and is a better way to wake up than a blaring noise coming out of your phone!

2. 'Commuting'

I have never been a morning person and I think that's OK! I did however get in the habit during COVID/Lockdowns of getting out of bed 15 minutes before I needed to start work, having a quick shower and then jumping on a video call... which probably didn't do great for my Mental Health!

For the past two weeks I've been getting up at least 2 hours before I start work, getting ready and going for a walk. I make a coffee in a reusable cup to take out with me and spend around an hour walking around the local park with my earbuds in. It gets me active first thing in the morning, gives me some time to think and does wonders for my mood.

I'd read about this before, and know several others on LinkedIn who do the same thing, but I wasn't expecting it to be such a mood changer.

3. Exercise

In addition to the above, I find going to the gym at some point during the day really helps lift my mood.

Sure, it takes a while to motivate myself but the main goal is to just get out and do some exercise regardless of how much I actually do in that day. You could of course just go for a run or do another walk during the day but exercise does boost mood and it should help.

4. New Hobbies

I don't know how much this will help, but this year I've decided to get a winter related hobby. Something that can only be done properly during the dark nights of the year which will hopefully help me see the shorter days as positive as opposed to negative.

I'm going for astronomy...

No I don't expect to become an expert overnight, or pursue it as a career option. I have always been interested in space though and buying a telescope to do some amateur peaking while the days are short will help give me something to look forward to!

5. Scheduling

Maybe a personal one just for me, and a lot of my connections with kids and large families will already be doing this, but I find scheduling really helps and highlights things you have to look forward to.

Every event I now go to, things I've booked, activities outside of work etc are now going into a calendar I share with my partner. We can look ahead, see what we have coming up and look forward to that event.

These are just 5 things I've been doing (and started doing last year) to improve my mood during winter generally, but I'd love to hear in the comments any techniques my connections use that they find effective!