Light Therapy

Cold, dark, windy days like these can make anyone feel down and have no energy or enthusiasm. Especially with the mornings and evenings being really dark too.
I find light therapy can help improve my mood and energy levels, just an hour or so a day.

You'll need a special light box which come in variety of shapes and sizes, they can look like a box or you can even get those that blend in with the decor and have specialised lamps that do the same job. I have the LitePod energy for life box, I've had it for quite a few years now and it definitely helps wake me up and gives me a better start to the day, I believe it cost me around £100 but I got a travel case and extra bulbs with it too. Depending on the person you will need to use your light box around 30 minutes to an hour or so daily, you put it on in the morning and you have to sit close enough to it so that it reflects in your eyes, but not too close that it blinds you! You can have it on when you are having breakfast or even if you are working on your laptop, as long as it is in eye range and you can see it.
You can even buy alarm clocks now that simulates the sun coming up, we have a great one by Lumie, you set your alarm and half and hour before the alarm sounds, it starts getting brighter as if the sun is rising, then when it is time to get up, it is on its brightest and the alarm will begin to sound, helping you wake up more naturally.

There is no scientific evidence that this works, but for people suffering for SAD (Seasonal affective disorder) it is highly recommended, unless you have an eye condition or taking medications that make you more sensitive to light, it is worth talking to your doctor about using the light box, a lot of companies do a money back guarantee so you can return them if it isn't working for you. Make sure you get a light box that is specifically for people that are effected by seasonal affective disorder and it might be worth discussing with the sellers how long you might benefit from using the light for daily.

I tend to only bring my SAD light out on days like these, where my energy is low and the sun is nowhere to be seen. It is up to you whether you use it on a daily basis during the winter months, but I'd highly recommend them for anyone who thinks they may have SAD or even those that just feel a little less themselves on the darker days, I wouldn't recommend using after 1pm though as it may disrupt your sleep later that night.