Dark mornings, long chilly evenings and short days; many people find January tough. While lots of people feel gloomy and lethargic, many also experience a winter depression known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
Symptoms of SAD include low mood, reduced interest in everyday things, lack of energy, daytime sleepiness and a desire to load up on carbohydrates.
Sunlight therapy
So, what can you do to beat the January blues? Well, boosting your exposure to daylight to combat the wintry darkness is a great place to start.
While an impromptu trip to sunnier climes isn’t an option for most of us, taking the dog for an early morning walk or popping outside at lunchtime for some important vitamin D are easy ways to replenish your body with natural daylight.
Sitting by a window and improving the light in your work and living areas can be helpful too. Alternatively, studies have shown that daily use of light boxes (which mimic natural light) can also be helpful for improving winter gloominess.
Staying active through exercise can help too. Even if you can’t combine exercise with getting outside for that all-important natural light, moving your body is helpful for improving mood.
It could be a quick home workout at the end of the day, a session in the gym or a brief swim. Keeping up a higher level of physical actively is important as exercise helps to boost the feel-good hormones called endorphins.
Spruce up your diet
Taking a look at your diet can also be useful for managing the winter blues. Studies have shown there’s a link between a healthy diet and improved mood.
If your body isn’t getting enough of the ‘good stuff’, your energy levels may be low. Foods like bananas, dark chocolate, berries, oats, nuts and seeds have been associated with improved mood.
Admittedly, eating healthier foods can be tricky when all you really want to do is hibernate and fill up on carbs.
Chat the blues away
Another method for alleviating wintry gloominess is identifying ways to reduce stress in your life. Exercise can, of course, help with managing stress, but there are also less physical ways to reduce it, such as deep breathing exercises or talking therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy.
A final, and perhaps more obvious, tip for banishing those winter blues is doing something that makes you feel good (as long as that’s not eating lots of carbs).
Perhaps that’s meeting up with friends or family, listening to music, watching a favourite television show or even doing some winter gardening. It’s those little acts of kindness to yourself that matter and can help to stave off those seasonal feelings of sadness.
So, when those winter blues are about to bite, it may be tempting to hide under the covers and hibernate until spring, but remember, there are small, everyday things you can do to boost your mood and feel more energised.
This article is an answer to the question (asked by Sally Thompson, Chichester) 'How can I banish the January blues?'
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