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Light O'Clock Podcast
Spotlight – Winter blues: SAD and how to winter well

Spotlight – Winter blues: SAD and how to winter well

Light O'Clock vor 7 Monaten

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Podcast

Light O'Clock

30 Episoden

A podcast on light and your body clock

Wissenschaft Gesundheit & Fitness

Podcaster

mspitschan

Many people notice changes in mood, energy, and motivation during
the dark winter months. In this episode, we explore Seasonal
Affective Disorder (SAD) and the broader experience of feeling
low in winter and, importantly, what science-backed strategies
can help.

We speak to Delainey Wescott about changes in sleep and circadian
rhythms in SAD, and chat with Hester Parr and Hayden Lorimer
about the Wintering Well project — an initiative that highlights
the power of community, shared experiences, and collective coping
during the darker months.

Throughout the episode, we discuss practical approaches to winter
wellbeing, including light exposure, daily routines, cognitive
reframing of winter, and small habits that can make a meaningful
difference.

Links and resources:

Sleep in seasonal affective disorder:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.08.023

Retinal light sensitivity in summer and winter:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.04.084

Wintering Well resources (Living with SAD project):
https://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/livingwithsad/winteringwell/resources/.
Includes: the guidebook Light is a Right: A Guide to
Wintering Well, an online course developed by CBT experts,
the Wintering Together Toolkit, and the SAD Stories
Exhibition.

Timestamps:

(02:24) What is SAD and how is that different from the winter
blues?

(05:16) Geography matters: who is affected by SAD?

(06:50) Circadian rhythms and sleep in SAD

(09:38) Light sensitivity in SAD

(11:50) Evidence-based strategies to alleviate SAD symptoms

(17:30) Summary

(18:35) The Living with SAD project

(22:30) Wintering Well Workshops

(25:45) My patch of winter sky, writing a letter to winter, and
my kind of winter neighbourhood

(34:00) Winter Well resources created by the workshops

(36:28) The present and future of the Living with SAD project

(39:45) Wrap up and outro