The holidays are over, it's chilly, wet and dark, we prefer to sit inside. Yet you need a daily dose of good light: it makes you more energetic, happier and healthier.
In the first period of the new year, everyone has already experienced a long period of very short days. The lengthening of the days is also still to come. New Year's resolutions are proving a lot harder to put into practice. The sun shows little face, it is cold and gloomy. It doesn't seem to be getting any light outside. The mood and mood of many people drops to an all-time low.
We are clearly in a very depressive period of the year. According to some, the most depressive period. The third Monday of the new year symbolizes this and is called Blue Monday.
Especially at this time of year, good light can help prevent the so-called winter dip. A quarter of people in the northern hemisphere suffer from it. A winter dip has specific symptoms such as a great need for sweet food, lifeless, lack of energy, not enjoying things and sleeping longer. Fortunately, this only leads to winter depression in four percent of people. That's when you really need medical help.
For the first period of the new year, people really don't have enough daylight. If you don't get any daylight for a day, your biological clock, which regulates all your body functions, lags behind the time on your watch by an average of 15 minutes. That adds up: if you spend a week getting little outside and not seeing daylight, you're easily an hour and a half behind. When you want to go to sleep, your body is not yet ready for a good, deep sleep. The hormone balance is not yet set up for good sleep.
Daylight has the right intensity and colour To prevent a winter dip, daylight is the very best. Daylight always has the right intensity and colour and is therefore very good for your health and sense of happiness. Make sure that you go outside for a good amount of time every day and that you also have enough good light inside during the day. Therefore, sit as close to the window as possible with your face or the side of your face facing the window. There should be daylight coming into your eyes.
If all that fails, these days there are lamps that mimic daylight as closely as possible. Of course, they can't mimic daylight completely, but enough intense light in your home can certainly help you against the winter blues. The light should be at least five times stronger than you are used to. And much lower in the evening.
Jan Denneman
Chairman Good Light Group
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