8 ways to beat the winter blues

  • By Andrea Brown, Herald Writer
  • Friday, December 28, 2012 4:17pm
  • Life

It’s hell getting out of bed on these dark mornings.

Like many people, Paul Schoenfeld felt groggy and disoriented, and stayed in a funk for several hours.

That changed after he started using a device that beams artificial sunrise.

“It’s a globe that is set on top of a clock,” he said. “It glows for 30 minutes before the alarm goes off.”

It’s not magic. It’s a tool to deal with seasonal affective disorder, aptly nicknamed SAD.

“I am a fellow sufferer,” said Schoenfeld, director of behavioral health at The Everett Clinic. “This is a rough time of year for people. I hear it from a lot of patients.”

He estimates about 14 million Americans get seriously depressed during the short winter months. Another 33 million have SAD symptoms like his.

“They feel foggy,” he said. “They have difficulty concentrating. People crave carbohydrates and they often put on weight.”

SAD strikes in southern climates, but it is worse in the northern latitudes, when daytime is marked by muted grays that turn pitch black by late afternoon.

The lack of light turns ordinarily energetic people into zombies.

“It’s an energy crisis,” Schoenfeld said.

Blame it on our wiring. Turns out humans are not that different than the average bear.

“We are part of the animal kingdom, though we don’t like to think of ourselves that way. We are affected by nature,” he said.

“Animals during the winter are less active and, unless nocturnal, sleep when it’s dark and wake up when the sun rises. The only hunting and gathering we do is at the supermarket. Our lives are artificially created around work.”

The easy thing to do is slump on the couch, stuff your face with cookies and watch bad movies.

This only makes matters worse.

Here are ways to deal with the wintertime blues.

1. Go outside. Walk in the rain.

That might seem counterintuitive.

“In the winter it is really important to get outside as much as possible, even on gray days when it is raining. You benefit from the natural light,” Schoenfeld said.

2. Exercise.

Yeah, you knew this one was coming.

“Studies have shown that exercise is equally as effective as medication for mild to moderate depression,” he said.

“Develop an exercise habit during the summer. It will become part of your habit so in the winter that habit is already there. It’s hard to develop when feeling low-energy.”

Don’t rely on making it a New Year’s resolution.

“Many people give it up. By February, they’re hanging their clothes on the NordicTrack,” Schoenfeld said.

3. Take vitamin D3 daily.

“There is a little bit of controversy,” he said. “But blood levels have shown people are deficient in winter.”

4. Lighten up.

There are a variety of energy lights, glow lamps and rise-and-shine clocks.

“You can get them with music and chirping birds,” Schoenfeld said.

Some devices hook up to an iPhone and do everything under the sun.

5. Beware of those bright and shiny places that lure you in. For example: nightclubs, malls and casinos.

“It gives a boost,” he said, “but then you have other problems, too.”

6. Escape.

“Get out of Dodge,” he said. “Get away for a week. Go to Florida or Mexico or Arizona or Hawaii.”

7. Have a latte.

There’s a reason the first Starbucks was started in sunless Seattle.

“Coffee is fine in moderation,” Schoenfeld said. “Too much will get you hyped up.”

8. Hang in there. Spring is coming.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.