How to beat the wintry weather Blues

Chilly days of winter may mean hot food, walks in the light wind and romantic weather, but for some it can also interpret into feelings of sadness, loss of hunger etc. Called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) or winter despair, this is said to happen more often in women than in men. And while it’s not serious (SAD) which makes you feel moody, can destroy your social calendar as you think withdrawn. 


The lack of sunshine is said to make the brain to work ultimately and produce melatonin, the hormone linked to sadness. A psychologist said, “In addition, what happens is when you have more sunlight on you, you lean to be outdoors and more active.

 The opposed then happens in the lack of this. I have had patients where the person’s entire outlook changed when it got dark early in winter and the grey evenings only added to his/her depression, so the reason is hormonal and environmental-induced. Plus, the body clock also gets affect as the activities are affected -- you may well not be able to like that walk at 7 PM in the evening light as it gets dark early.” 

The psychologist adds that Seasonal Affective Disorder can happen to anybody. “It can affect any person at any age and for those already going away through trauma or suffering from genetic depression, this can be a trigger. To an office-goer, the biggest obstacle is, it can badly affect a person’s work life as she/he shows cognitive turn down with the mental deficiency being reduced.” 

How light treatment works

Though there are a variety of courses of treatment such as taking antidepressant medicine after consulting a doctor, and going in for cognitivebehavioural treatment is more common here, light treatment is also said to be useful.

 It uses a special light with a very bright light that acts just like light would be emitted from the sun. Says mind-body specialist, “Increased exposure to daylight can relieve symptoms of SAD and study has shown that light boxes work to revitalise the mood and boost power. 

They give out artificial brightness that imitate the sun’s rays and emit anyplace from 2,500 lux to 10,000 lux (measure of intensity). Light treatment has to be performed every day and the best time to perform is in the morning for 30 minutes.”