Tech beat to winter blues the

Is the deep dark of winter bringing you down and making you feel sluggish and glum? Give yourself a boost of happiness and energy with this new breed of feel-good tech

Winter brings with it shorter days, less sunshine and a duller sun. If you feel less interested in activities, your appetite changes and you want to sleep more, you could be suffering from the ‘winter blues’, or seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The latter is the more severe of the two – but how do you know if you’re suffering from the winter blues or a form of SAD?

Helen Hanson, Chair of the Seasonal Affective Disorder Association (SADA) charity, describes winter blues as a milder expression of SAD, the latter now recognised medically as a form of depression. “Lack of light causes SAD,” explains Helen. “This lack of light creates a biochemical imbalance in the hypothalamus, a part of the brain which regulates many bodily functions. This explains why SAD affects people in many ways – physically, mentally, cognitively and emotionally.

“People with winter blues feel more lethargic and ‘fed up’ in winter,” Helen continues. “People with severe SAD become medically depressed. If untreated, this depression – coupled with the other symptoms – can be devastating.”

There are ways to alleviate symptoms, including light therapy, medication and lifestyle changes. If you’re suffering, contact your GP for advice. There’s also a wealth of information on the HealthDirect Australia ( healthdirect.gov.au/seasonal-affective-disorder) website. On the next page, we’ve rounded up tech that can help take the edge off your winter blues…