How I Beat SAD: In Conversation with Katie Maciver

After spending a winter in the depths of depression a few years ago, I now make small changes in my daily routine every autumn to prevent Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) taking hold once more. By prioritising your own self-care, you have the power to enter the winter months with such mental resilience that you can actually ENJOY them!

Running on no sleep isn’t fun for anyone and prioritising rest can make all the difference for your well-being.

Natural light is great for gently waking you in line with your body’s internal clock and ensuring you feel rested and ready for the day, but the lack of sunlight in the early mornings means this isn’t an option in the winter. Enter Lumie wake-up lights. Purchasing a sunrise alarm clock is one of the best investments I’ve made for my sleep routine. I use Lumie Bodyclock Shine 300 to mimic the light and colour of a real sunrise, so I can wake up feeling refreshed. Using a soothing sound for your alarm is another simple change. There’s nothing worse than waking suddenly to a jarring alarm that instantly puts you in a bad mood. Lumie sunrise alarms have different calming sounds to give you a peaceful waking experience.

Sleep hygiene is another important consideration. If you tend to doom scroll, try leaving your phone in a different room (or at least far away from your bed) and watch how quickly you get through your book when Instagram isn’t taking over your evenings!

Maybe not the nicest thing to think about but understanding what your bad days look like can help you put systems in place to prevent you slipping too far. For me, as soon as life gets busy, nutrition, exercise, and household chores are neglected instantly, and the resulting downward spiral can be difficult to reverse. Pre-empting this, I stock my freezer with prepped meals (either homemade or bought in), book in my favourite low impact exercise classes, and set aside a couple of hours each weekend to deep clean the house. This way, I can prevent that mental health crash and get back to enjoying the autumn/winter season.

The exact cause of Seasonal Affective Disorder is still not understood; however, it is thought that lack of sunlight during the colder months is a key factor. Making use of light therapy options can therefore be a game changer. Light therapy lamps such as Lumie Dash provide bright light exposure, helping to increase focus, boost serotonin, and improve overall mood.

Nutrition can be an overwhelming topic with so much information available, but the main thing is to keep it simple. Aim for regular balanced meals to keep you fuelled throughout the day. Cosy season is here, so leaning towards hearty, comforting meals with lots of veggies is always a good idea in my book (hello soup season!). Bonus points if you batch cook and keep a stock of emergency meals in the freezer – look after your future self!

Sunlight is our main source of vitamin D. So, if you live in Scotland like me where sunshine is a rare occurrence at the best of times, it’s a good idea to up the vitamin D rich foods like oily fish and consider taking a supplement from October to March.

Get away from your desk at lunchtime and take a quick walk outside. The fresh air and daylight can help you avoid the dreaded 4pm crash. I also have one non-negotiable outdoorsy day a week where I leave the city and get back to nature. It doesn’t have to be a whole day (even 30 minutes is great), but getting to a woodland, moor, or beach and reconnecting with nature regularly can help to clear a busy mind and reinforce your mental resilience. If you find it difficult to brave the wet weather, maybe reward yourself with a little treat for your adventure (my favourite is a flask of hot chocolate).

A schedule with only work and sleep doesn’t exactly inspire joy, and it gets a whole lot easier to stay positive when you actually look forward to your day! It could be attending your favourite yoga class, calling a close friend, scheduling uninterrupted reading/TV time, or even cooking your favourite meal for dinner. You deserve to enjoy life every day so what little things can you add in here and there to make things more a little more pleasant?

To hear more from Katie, check out the reel below!