December 4, 2025
📖 Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
👋 Hi Wellness IQ Crew!
When the light retreats, your biology quietly shifts—sleep drifts later, mood gets low, cravings creep in, and motivation thins.
That’s called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a pattern of depression that flares as days shorten and eases as light returns. Core signs include lower mood and motivation, carb cravings, oversleeping, afternoon “energy crashes,” and feeling less social.
🌎 GLOBAL NOTE: Seasonal mood dips follow your local light curve, not the calendar. In the Northern Hemisphere, the dip usually peaks December–February; in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s June–August. Closer to the equator, day length changes less, but indoor work, late-night screens, and irregular schedules can still nudge your body clock off track.
🌅 Why light matters (and what to do)
Less daylight throws off your circadian rhythm and can lower daytime serotonin while shifting melatonin later at night. Two evidence-based tools help:
- Bright morning light. Use a 10,000-lux light box within an hour of waking for 20–30 minutes. Sit an arm’s length away, eyes open (don’t stare at the light), and be consistent most mornings through your darker season.
- Dawn simulation. A bedside device that slowly brightens your room before you wake is great if mornings are difficult for you or you can’t sit at a light box.
Talk therapy that lasts: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Seasonal Affective Disorder (CBT-SAD) teaches season-specific skills and performs as well as light therapy for symptom relief, with better prevention of future winter relapses in follow-ups. How to access CBT-SAD without private sessions: look for workbook-based CBT for SAD, reputable online CBT programs (iCBT), or community/group classes offered by clinics and university centers. Many people use a CBT workbook + light routine as a practical starting point.
Make it local: Northern hemisphere readers generally start a light routine late Oct/Nov and continue into March; Southern hemisphere readers often start Apr/May into September. Travelers/shift workers: Anchor the routine to the new local sunrise for 1–2 weeks.
🧠 Movement, sleep, rhythm
- 🚶 Move most days. Light + exercise is a powerful combo. Brisk walking, strength circuits, yoga—whatever you’ll repeat. Bonus. If you can, get outdoor daylight while moving.
- 😴 Protect your sleep window. Same bedtime/wake time (±30 minutes), dim lights/screens 60–90 minutes before bed, and keep caffeine to mornings.
🥗 Food first: small plates, big payoffs
- 🐟 Fatty fish 2–3×/week (or equivalent omega-3 from foods): salmon, sardines, mackerel support mood and brain health.
- 🥣 Slow carbs + protein at breakfast (oats + eggs/Greek yogurt): steadier energy and better tryptophan availability for “feel-good” serotonin pathways.
- 🥬 Leafy greens, beans, lentils: magnesium + B-vitamins for energy metabolism and stress resilience.
- 🫐 Color + fats together: pair colorful plants (dark greens, carrots/squash, red/purple berries and beets, yellow/orange peppers) with healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, nuts/seeds, tahini, kefir/yogurt) to absorb fat-soluble nutrients—A, D, E, K and carotenoids like beta-carotene(carrots), lutein/zeaxanthin (spinach, kale), and lycopene (tomatoes).
- 🥛 Fermented foods daily if you can: kefir, live-culture yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi.Your gut–brain axis will thank you.
- ☕ Caffeine with care: Morning > afternoon because caffeine’s half-life is ~5–7 hours; afternoon cups linger into bedtime and blunt deep sleep. Aim to keep it before noon (or at least 8–10 hours before sleep).
⏰ Timing tip: In your darker season, front-load more of your calories earlier (breakfast/lunch) and keep evenings lighter; it aligns better with circadian metabolism and sleep.
💊 Smart, simple supplements (education only—personalize with your clinician)
These complement, not replace, light, therapy, sleep, and food. Quality matters; choose third-party tested products.
- Omega-3 (EPA-forward): If you rarely eat fish, aim for ~1 g/day EPA (or1–2 g/day EPA+DHA) with food.
- Magnesium (form matters):
– Glycinate: generally best absorbed and gentle on the stomach—solid first choice for relaxation/sleep support.
– Citrate: well absorbed and can draw water into the intestines, which helps if you’re constipated. Take earlier in the evening if you’re sensitive.
Threonate: designed to cross the blood–brain barrier; often chosen for calm/focus/sleep quality. Typical total dose: 200–400 mg elemental magnesium in the evening; start low and adjust. - Vitamin D: Test and correct deficiency, especially at higher latitudes; trials in SAD are mixed, so treat confirmed low levels rather than assuming a mood effect.
- B-complex (Optional, individualized) if your intake is low (helps energy pathways), and probiotics/fermented foods for gut–brain support.
If you’re not getting these from food regularly, I’ve curated clinician-grade options for you. Reach out if you want help choosing what fits your season and location. Email me at Gloria@WellnessEvolution.com
🧰 Your quick-start plan (copy/paste checklist)
- 🌅 10,000-lux light box 20–30 min after waking (filter UV).
- 🚶 Outdoor movement 20–30 min before noon.
- 🛏️ Consistent sleep window + dim evenings.
- 🍽️ EPA-rich fish 2–3×/week; color + fats at meals.
- 🧠 CBT-SAD skills if winters keep knocking you down.
- 🧪 Check vitamin D with your clinician; correct if low.
👩⚕️ When to get help
If low mood, sleep changes, or loss of interest persist most days for 2+ weeks, or you’ve had past episodes, talk with your clinician. Light therapy, CBT-SAD, medications, or a combination may be right for you. If you have eye/skin sensitivity or bipolar-spectrum symptoms, get medical guidance before using bright-light devices.
Your next tiny step
Pick one: morning light, breakfast upgrade, or a 10-minute outdoor “light lap.” Do it daily for a week. Then add one more. Small choices, big wins—wherever you live
And, always remember to be cool to your future self! 😎
Gloria 🌺
Gloria Treister, HHP Board Certified Holistic Health Practitioner
Advanced Physical Fitness Specialist. EMCC Certified Executive & Business Coach
AUTHOR: Wellness 101: Simple Steps to Good Health
Reminder: Whole for the Holidays 2025 Extra Discount On Fullscript 🎁
Thank you for reading, learning, and working on your wellness with me—whether you are an individual client, a newsletter reader, or part of our corporate wellness programs.
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