A doctor has shared her tips on how to boost your mood, should you be suffer from Seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
The health term is a type of depression that comes and goes in a seasonal pattern, which can also be known as “winter depression”.
This is due to the fact that symptoms, such as a persistent low mood and feeling sleepier than usual, are more apparent and more severe during the winter months.
Famed gardener Monty Don, 69, knows all too well about depression which once got so bad that his long-term wife Sarah told him she’d leave him if he didn’t get help.
Speaking on Kate Thornton’s White Wine Question Time podcast, last year, he said: “I was long ago diagnosed with SAD – there’s no question about it, that November and December are always the worst time for me – I can’t bear them.
“It’s a lot to do with the greyness, the lack of light and the general sense of the world just pressing in on you and no energy.”
Recalling his wife’s reaction when his moods were at all-time low, he added: “Sarah said to me, ‘Look, I just can’t take any longer your moods and your black depression, you’ve got to do something about it because if you don’t, I can’t live with you – I’ll take the children and I’ll go’.”
Monty later sought help from a doctor who put him on anti-depressants, but he later gave them up and started to use a light box, which helps transition between the seasons.
Monty also credits gardening as a good way to boost his mood, as well as spending time with his loved ones and dogs.
With temperatures gradually decreasing and the sun setting earlier, Dr Dawn Harper has stressed the importance of getting as much daylight as possible.
Additionally, she recommends regular exercise to increase your motivation in the winter months, as well as a Vitamin D supplement.
For those needing extra help, Dr Harper suggests taking Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to boost serotonin levels.
She warns however that these can take a couple of weeks to kick in, so it’s best to speak to your doctor sooner rather than later.
She added: “Bear in mind that we usually ask you to use them for six months, so you will need to continue taking them until Spring arrives.”
If getting outdoors isn’t doable, the doctor recommends sitting in front of a lamp for 30 to 60 minutes every morning.
“They have shown to help regulate the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle and improve mood and energy levels,” the doctor tells Platinum Magazine.
“For best results, they should be used every day between autumn and spring.”
While your eyes need to be open to achieve the benefit, it’s best to avoid looking directly into the lamp.
Instead, the doctor says many of her patients sit in front of the lamp while eating breakfast or reading.
