The title sounds a little flippant but sufferers of seasonal effective disorder know the dread that comes with first drop in temperature. Once the holidays, with the hustle and bustle (and Christmas lights), is done those long moths of January, February and March stretch coldly ahead.
There are some things that you can do to your house in order to help get through those long winter months.
1. Wash your windows every single Autumn. Before the weather gets too cold wash every single window in your home or hire a local company to wash them for you. This will make a difference not only in your mood but also in your energy bills! Allowing whatever week winter sunlight to penetrate your home will help your brain produce chemicals like vitamin D to make you feel brighter, happier and more alert. It will help your plants grow too!
2. Open your windows a little bit each morning to let some fresh air and the sounds of the birds tweeting. Bird sounds are relaxing and studies have shown that music and noise therapy is a great help when it comes to treating seasonal affective disorder. Birds tweet in the winter too...It might be cold outside but that’s not to say you can’t open your windows for ten minutes to let some outside in.
3. Brighten up! Get yourself a few brighter, energy-saving light bulbs and your home will make you much happier. Firstly, the lamps get brighter over time, giving your head and your eyes a chance to warm to the brightness of it all (just like a dawn simulator) and secondly, brighter light bulbs will leave you in a much brighter mood.
4. Even though that “merlot” paint seemed like a great color for the walls – it’s not helping your mood. You would be amazed how much a color change will help you when you have the winter blues. Color has been shown for years to have a massive impact on mood. Picking the right colors in your home could make the world of difference to how well you get through this winter. Think bright and light: bright color improves your mood directly and light colors reflect the sunlight giving you the much needed light to fight off the winter blues.
