A form of depression known as “seasonal sadness” occurs when the seasons change. Because it manifests itself more frequently in the colder months, it is a type of depression that is frequently referred to as the winter blues. As a result, seasonal sadness, also known as seasonal affective disorder, may be present if you ever experience symptoms like sadness, poor energy, and moodiness when the weather becomes cooler.
Seasonal depression is quite typical, but there are some beneficial actions you may take to combat the symptoms. The most typical symptoms of seasonal depression are listed below, along with a few tech tools and apps that can be useful when you start to feel down.
6 Seasonal Sadness And Tech Tools That Can Help You Overcome It
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Concentration Problems
A common indication of seasonal depression is having trouble focusing or making decisions. Losing focus can exacerbate your bad feelings because you feel like you can’t accomplish anything. So you may use a pleasant, lighthearted app like Forest to fight this difficult seasonal depression symptom.
The Forest app encourages you to create your own enchanted tree forest. The difficulty, though, is to avoid using your phone and maintain attention on your selected work. If not, your trees will perish. Choose the tree you wish to grow first, then the focus period, and finally, your task. Tap Plant to start the growth process.
More trees will develop and prosper as long as you keep your attention on your work. Timer and Stopwatch are two of the app’s focus modes. Additionally, you can plant a variety of stunning and rare tree species in your forest.
- Limited Social Contact
You could notice yourself withdrawing socially when the holidays come around. Having some sort of social support right now is crucial. It’s time to get creative when you can’t be with your friends and family in person. You may keep in touch with your loved ones with the help of the excellent small smart messaging device known as the Lovebox.
Anyone who has love for another person can use the Lovebox, so it’s not merely a tool for bringing couples closer together. Your close friends, parents, grandparents, and kids fall under this category.
How does the Lovebox operate, though? All you need to do to start exchanging GIFs, text messages, images, drawings, stickers, and more is link your Lovebox to the companion app. Watch the device rotate once your loved one receives the message.
- Lack Of Sleep
Similar to many other types of depression, seasonal affective disorder can interfere with your regular sleeping schedule. The Dodow sleep aid device may be able to help you if you have trouble falling or staying asleep. How can this tiny, inconspicuous instrument facilitate falling asleep?
Dodow is a piece of sleep technology that uses a unique light system to gently lull you to sleep to ensure that you have a better night’s rest. Simply place the Dodow next to your bed, and it will illuminate your ceiling with a blue LED light.
Your breathing rhythm is synchronized with the cycle of the light, which also relaxes you and aids in your eventual transition to sleep. Additionally, you can decide whether the Dodow should turn off after 8 or 20 minutes of sleep.
- Weight Gain Or Weight Loss
Your appetite may alter as a result of seasonal depression, which could result in unhealthful weight gain or reduction. Although maintaining a healthy diet is important, it is not always as simple as it sounds. MealPrepPro, an app for meal planning, can help with that.
With this meal prep program, it’s simple to keep to your healthy eating goals—just select your food choices, the number of meals, and the number of people you’re preparing for, and MealPrepPro takes care of the rest.
Feel free to substitute another recipe or add more meals to your daily schedule if you don’t like one. Additionally, you may press Cook to cook a wonderful food right now or add the ingredients to the integrated grocery list to save them for a later date.
- Loss of Motivation to Exercise
One of the best strategies to combat seasonal depression is exercise. Yet finding the motivation to exercise might be really difficult at times. Why not make fitness into a game when you lack the motivation to get moving? Fitness RPG adds a fun, game-like element and eliminates the boredom that can occasionally accompany routine exercise.
To put it simply, Fitness RPG combines a step counter with a role-playing game. It transforms your walking into energy that you may utilize to strengthen your hero characters and aid them in combat. You’ll be able to access a variety of fun features as you go through the stages, such as the store, market, and skills for your hero.
- Circadian Rhythm Is Off Track
The reduction in sunlight and shorter days, which might disturb your sleep and wake cycles, are frequently the main causes of seasonal depression. According to a blog article from Harvard Health Publishing, bright light therapy successfully treats depression because it directly impacts circadian rhythms.
Artificial light is therefore preferable to genuine sunshine when it is not possible to expose yourself to it. A machine that produces light that resembles sunlight is known as a light therapy box. A Verilux HappyLight is among the greatest light treatment boxes you can get.
Given that it has four brightness settings, a countdown timer, and customizable colors, the HappyLight Luxe is a good choice. Don’t worry if you’re searching for a different type of light, such as a desk or floor lamp. The HappyLights products are available in a range of colors, styles, and pricing points.
Final Thought
Do you feel worn out, lonely, and depressed as the weather turns cooler and the days grow shorter and darker? Avoid ignoring these symptoms as they may indicate seasonal affective disorder. Although seasonal depression is a very typical occurrence, there are still things you can do to prevent it.
There are practical measures you may take to alleviate the symptoms of seasonal depression, from improving your social connections and regular exercise to trying bright light treatment. Remember, the best course of action is to get help from a healthcare provider as soon as you can if you believe you may be extremely depressed and nothing is helping.