Don’t be S.A.D

The nights are drawing in and there is a nip in the air. You can feel it as it sinks into your bones, and the wet starts to seep into your skin. Winter is nearly here.

There are so many good things about this time of year; the colours changing, the sunrises and sunsets don’t get any better, the cosy fires, layers upon layers of lovely woollen knits, the rustle of leaves and the smell, oh I love the smell.

For me autumn feels like the start of something new, like the world is shedding its skin to refresh and look new once more. It is stark, harsh, bitingly bitter but so exuberantly beautiful as its colours burn.

However, I start to dread the winter round about the end of August. I can sense the nights about to lengthen, and those sacred daylight hours begin to be snatched away. Seasonal Affective Disorder, with the rather horrific acronym of SAD, is something that as a kid I knew nothing about. However, as I grew older I could feel a change in myself as the seasons started to take on such a drastic change.

Now, don’t get me wrong, Autumn is actually my favourite time of the year. Yet, SAD strikes just as the new school term hits. Summer’s relaxing pace is rudely shaken back into a high paced stress fest as we scramble to find the semblance of routine once more, settle into jobs, homework, after school clubs, and just as we need the nights to stay light – they too start to mock and turn on us, leaving us wanting for a little bit more each day.

It wasn’t as obvious to me, until I met my husband what Seasonal Affective Disorder was. He is a man who lives for the outside, to soak up the sun. He is up with the larks, and full of boundless energy in the spring and summer, and longs to be out in the light as much as he can in the winter months. I used to think it was just returning to school, and the rigmarole of a teacher’s life that caused the changes I would see in him as September eased its way on in. But after about four years I started to notice that his mood, stress and anxiety levels would change with the seasons, like mine, but more pronounced. Specifically between Mid-September to January.

The exact cause of SAD is not known, but the main theory is that a lack of sunlight might stop a part of the brain called the hypothalamus working properly [for more information please visit the NHS website here.] Isn’t it strange how a little bit of sunlight can hugely impact your mood and body– hello wonderful mother nature at work.

With the light dwindling in these months it is thought that higher levels of melatonin are produced – this is the hormone which makes you sleepy – hello lethargic feeling that hits you in the Autumn and Winter. Also, lower levels of serotonin – the hormone which affects your appetite, and mood. This is what can cause use to feel higher levels of stress and anxiety…not just the inevitable end of the summer holidays and return to work…

So, how do you combat this SAD affair?

Well over the years we have developed a few little life hacks which help us bounce back, love these darker days and longer nights, and still find a way to adventure. And they are pretty simple – they also require a little bit of Mother Nature’s magic.

Life Hack One:

Get outside as much as possible. Don’t snooze the alarm.
Now this is a simple statement, however when you work inside ALL day, arrive at work in the dark and leave work in the dark – this may feel like an impossible feat. So how to over come this?
Firstly let’s start with a scary fact; did you know that the average Brit will spend 53 years of their adult life INSIDE. Inside.
If you work in a school – Like A, get out first thing in the morning when you wake – breathe in that cold fresh air, it will set your lungs alight and the cold on your skin will revitalise you immediately. Try and be outside for maybe 10-15mins first thing – this normally happens at 6am for us with a glass of water.
Break times – if you’re stuck inside for a meeting or a club open the windows and the curtains as much as you can and be in as bright a space as possible – maybe encourage walking meetings, they help you think clearly, they change the pace, and provide some movement. If you haven’t got a meeting walk the long way to wherever you need to be – and make sure it involves going through the playground! It is a fact that even just getting 30 minutes of time outside in the fresh air and natural light can have huge benefits to your stress, anxiety levels and general well-being – even, if you don’t do exercise. That’s right, just standing in the grand outdoors is enough, on your step, the patio, the playground…even the car park. Boost those natural light hours you have and soak it up as much as you can, like it is your very own solar power charge time.

Life Hack Two:
Exercise a bit every day.

Now we know Alex is a Duracell bunny when it comes to energy for exercise, and there is good reason for it. It boosts his mood by providing him those vital and necessary endorphins to boost his day. It is your natural anti-depressant, and literally provides the spring in your step.
Work out first thing – after your 10mins outside – do a workout. This can be as small as a 7 minute blast, or a 20minute Hiit. Whatever fits, do it. Feel those little mood enhancers filter their way through your system, and you will genuinely start the day the right way – this and that natural light booster should have you powering on through until at least lunchtime!
Which if you’re like me and work in an office or from home is the perfect time to take a walk, or a run. Even in the wind and the rain. If like Alex you work in a school and outside time is limited – walk the playground, or the corridors – just move your body a little bit during the day to keep the little SAD demons away.

Life Hack Three:
Embrace the night.

This may feel counter intuitive, but we have found that whether we are outside in the light or the dark, loving the outside and being outdoors is the best medicine. Take a wander after dinner, find that new path, walk that street you haven’t before, we found a hidden public garden once (it is now a favourite thinking spot!). Embrace the dark -it is exciting going out when the lights have gone out. Night runs are particularly fun, walking in the moors under the stars – pretty magical, detecting bats, finding constellations, and having the moon light your way all bring a little bit of wonder into the day.

Life Hack Four:
No screens in the evening.

We are a plugged-in world – and often we have worked in front of a screen in some way shape or form all day. That dastardly blue light impacts our sleep – which is already struggling with the changes and we’re left feeling hungover and deprived. So we turn them off, put them down (I find this harder than Alex, but feel the benefit massively when I do it properly!) switch them off. We read, or we walk, and sometimes we just talk.

Life Hack Five:
Talk about it.

Talking is underrated. Talking with purpose and openness is uplifting, honest and brings you closer to those you share with. We embrace the night, and although this is sometimes in silence, many times we talk. Talking in the darkness is comforting, there are no facial expressions or judgement, there’s nothing but the other person, listening.

So, let’s not spend 53 years inside. Let’s turn the screens off, and the talking up. Let’s move, let’s embrace it and let’s breathe it in.

As the light fades, we will chase it.