Things to improve your mood when you suffer with SAD

The dark days have really set in. This time of year a lot of people suffer with SAD Seasonal Affective Disorder. SAD is a type of depression that reoccurs in a pattern linked to seasons. It more commonly affects people in the winter but people can have symptoms during the summer. SAD is something I struggle with but there are things I do to help make me feel better. Here’s some things to improve your mood when you suffer with SAD.

Things to improve your mood when you suffer with SAD

In the winter months there’s definitely a lot less sun around which means you aren’t getting enough Vitamin D. Vitamin D is important for your overall health. It can have an effect on many aspects of your health and different conditions. It can also have an effect on your mood.

What is Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is a a member of the steroid hormone family and helps to regulate calcium and phosphate levels in the body. Calcium and phosphate are nutrients that are need to help keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy.

Vitamin D is created by the body in response to the skin being exposed to sunlight. This is why it can sometimes be called the ‘sunshine vitamin’. It can also be found in some foods such as; oily fish, egg yolks, read meat, fortified dairy and grain products.

Vitamin D deficiency symptoms

Tiredness, muscle weakness and pain, severe bone pain and mood changes like depression can be symptoms of a deficiency in Vitamin D.

Vitamin D may also help protect against conditions like; heart disease and high blood pressure, diabetes, infections and immune system disorders, falls in older people, some types of cancer, such as colon, prostate and breast cancers and multiple sclerosis.

People with chronic conditions such as Fibromyalgia and ME may also benefit from increasing Vitamin D levels.

Taking Vitamin D supplements can help improve your mood. There plenty of places you can buy vitamins online. I take Vitamin D tablets daily.

Lighting can also have an effect on your mood. I’ve written a whole post about interior lighting and mental health. An lighting option to help with SAD is getting a day light lamp.

Again, as there’s not much sun, it’s much darker inside. The light in the lamps hit the retina in the eye and sends signals to the brain effecting the hormone levels and chemicals, therefore increasing your mood. It is thought the light may improve SAD by encouraging your brain to reduce the production of melatonin (a hormone that makes you sleepy) and increase the production of serotonin (a hormone that affects your mood).

Another lighting option is to get a dawn simulator/ sunrise alarm clock. These lamp clocks are designed to portray a natural and gradual sunrise, where the light slowly emits light over a period of time before desired wakeup time.

Exercise can also help increase peoples mood. Regular walking and stretching are easy ways to incoperate exercise into daily lives. I know I always feel better after getting outside in the fresh air for a short walk.

How to cope with SAD

Another thing I like to do to improve my mood is taking a bath with epsom salts. This can help to reduce stress and improve sleep. The magnesium in the epsom salts may boost the brains neurotransmitters and promote melatonin. Warm baths are also known to relax you and the magnesium helps to release muscle tension.

Aromatherapy also has a similar effect. Essential oils are known to have effects on moods. Different scents have different effects. Citrus scents are said to be uplifting and stimulating, whereas lavender is said to be relaxing and calming. I like to use something like the This Works Deep Sleep pillow spray* which is a blend of Lavender, Vetivert and Camomile.

Planning and organising is something that can help with the winter blues. Scheduling your daily taks and ticking them off your list can help you feel accomplished and improve your mood. As well as planning things to look forward to. I like to plan things to do in advance and then I have a countdown which gives me a sense of excitement.

Something to remember is to allow yourself to have down days. Give yourself permission to have days for yourself, where you can have a duvet day and watch films. You are not going to feel happy and positive all the time and that’s okay.

I hope you have found some of these things to improve your mood when you suffer with SAD helpful. Looking after your physical and mental wellbeing is important. Doing things you enjoy and staying positive can greatly benefit your mood, even the little things.