4 Tips to Combat The Winter Blues and Seasonal Burnout
By Jody Bell
I woke up this morning to frost on my lawn and my stomach dropped.
Like many people, the onset of colder weather and shorter days is not an indicator of the joyous holiday season to come. Instead, it’s a trigger that leads to months of burnout, low energy, and general winter blues.
The winter blues can be particularly hard for students. We are stuck on a rigid schedule and for many, the winter commute consists of walking to the bus in freezing weather before the sun even rises. To make matters worse, the days tend to shorten right as students are closing out their first semester and gearing up towards midterms despite inevitable burnout. All in all, it’s a difficult mix.
For some, the winter blues may evolve into a more serious condition referred to as Seasonal Affective Disorder. This is essentially a form of depression that occurs during seasonal shifts (specifically during the winter) and is characterized by more intense symptoms such as constant fatigue, changes in appetite, and severe depression that inhibits everyday activities. The disorder is far more common in women, and symptoms tend to begin in young adulthood. So, if you are like me and tend to get winter blues, it's crucial to monitor your symptoms and ensure you have a solid support system to check-in with.
Unfortunately, these symptoms tend to hurt academic performance, and anxiety surrounding grades can in turn make symptoms worse. Thankfully, there are researched ways of combating these changes in mood, and with some lifestyle changes it can be possible to completely rid yourself of these winter blues.
1. Use a dawn simulator
On those dark mornings I had to catch the bus, my dawn simulator is the holy grail that got me out of bed.
Dawn simulators function like an alarm clock that wakes you up with a gradually increasing light that mimics the sunrise. It’s thought that the feelings of drowsiness and sadness of the winter blues may relate to the shorter days interrupting the body’s circadian rhythm, thus light therapy is a go-to treatment.
When shopping for a dawn simulator, try to choose one that has a dawn simulator that has full spectrum light. Research shows that this best-mimics light therapy as it is closest to natural sunlight.
2. Try to embrace the change in weather into your study habits and routine
With shorter and colder days, it can be incredibly hard to spice up your routine -- let alone get out of the house.
That being said, changing your scenery and daily routine is crucial to preventing burnout and staying on top of your academics and even your mental health. A great way to do this is creating a winter/fall-themed bucket list for your study habits!
For example, try creating a list of local cafes to study in, concocting the perfect holiday drink/snack to include in your study sessions, or even studying with some seasonal music.
3. Boost that vitamin D!
Have you ever been told to run outside and soak up some vitamin D?
Well this classic token of advice most definitely rings true ‒ especially for people sensitive to seasonal changes and the winter blues. Low vitamin D levels have been found to correlate with depression, and when you are sheltering from the cold weather it could be hard to naturally get vitamin D from the sun. Thus, try to incorporate vitamin D into your diet: foods like yogurt, milk, or even orange juice are packed full of the vitamin!
If you are struggling with shifts in your diet, there are also plenty of vitamin D supplements that you can take.
4. Don’t forget to move your body
I don't know about you, but once it gets cold enough I go into full-hibernation mode and fail to treat my body the way it deserves.
Without long summer days spent biking or at the beach with friends, it can be really hard to purposefully live an active lifestyle. Plus, if your mood is already affected by some of these seasonal changes, it can be hard to even gather the motivation to purposefully get your body moving.
Yet, despite your mind telling you to stay cozy and curled up in bed, it’s best for you to work through this and incorporate even mild movements into your routine. Whether it’s taking a few walks, doing some morning yoga, or some solo dance-parties between classes, try your best to move your body in whatever way makes you comfortable and happy!
5. Plan one new activity each week
For me, the weeks before the holiday season were always the gloomiest and most monotonous.
I couldn’t see summer on the horizon, academics were becoming increasingly difficult, and it felt as though I was in this exhaustive routine where each week was hard to get through. I recall this was particularly bad during my junior year of high school, so some friends and I created a challenge that required us to try one new activity/experience each Saturday. We went to drive-in movie theaters, tried experimental recipes in the kitchen, and even dabbled in knitting. It became this exciting activity that broke up my days and allowed me to look forwards to a new life experience each week!
This may be an overwhelming amount of advice, but I promise that these small lifestyle changes have a big impact on mental health and the winter blues. That being said, if you start enacting these changes and are still unhappy with your mood, please reach out and talk to a trusted adult. Having a strong support system is crucial, and given that winter blues could turn into a more serious disorder is just all the more reason to be actively aware of your daily mood.
If you have any questions or want to reach out, please feel free to shoot me an email at jody.bell@girlswithimpact.com.
Jody Bell, 20 is Girls With Impact’s Editor in Chief and a program graduate from Greenwich High School. Girls With Impact is the nation’s only online, business and leadership program for girls 14-24, turning them into tomorrow’s leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators.