Light

You may notice that you have less energy than usual, feel less productive and creative, need more sleep, feel sad, down, or depressed, and have less control over your appetite as the daylight time gets shorter in the fall or when there is a series of cloudy days.

If so, you may have Seasonal Affective Disorder (more commonly known as SAD).

If you think this may be an issue for you, spending more time outdoors, or near windows when you are indoors, can relieve this problem, which tends to be worse for people who live in the north and in places where it is cloudy much of the time.

You can supplement your light with bright or full spectrum light indoors or by using a specially manufactured light box. You may want to plan ahead, knowing that the fall and winter are hard times for you and that you need to take very good care of yourself and get as much outdoor light as possible.

If you increase the light in your life, you may notice changes in the way you feel right away, or after 4 or 5 days. Do you think you have SAD?

If so, what are you going to do about it?

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Sleep

You will feel better if you sleep well. Your body needs time every day to rest and heal. If you often have trouble sleeping–either falling asleep, or waking during the night and being unable to get back to sleep–one or several of the following ideas might be helpful to you —

Go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time every morning. Avoid "sleeping in" (sleeping much later than your usual time for getting up). It will make you feel worse.

Establish a bedtime "ritual" by doing the same things every night for an hour or two before bedtime so your body knows when it is time to go to sleep.

Avoid caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol.

Eat on a regular schedule and avoid a heavy meal prior to going to bed. Don't skip any meals.

Eat plenty of dairy foods and dark green leafy vegetables.

Exercise daily, but avoid strenuous or invigorating activity before going to bed.

Play soothing music on a tape or CD that shuts off automatically after you are in bed.

Try a turkey sandwich and a glass of milk before bedtime to make you feel drowsy.

Try having a small snack before you go to bed, something like a piece of fruit and a piece of cheese or some cottage cheese so you don't wake up hungry in the middle of the night. Have a similar small snack if you awaken in the middle of the night.

Take a warm bath or shower before going to bed.

Place a drop of lavender oil on your pillow.

Drink a cup of herbal chamomile tea or take several chamomile capsules before going to bed.
You need to see your doctor if —

you often have difficulty sleeping and the solutions listed above are not working for you.

you awaken during the night gasping for breath

your partner reports that your breathing is interrupted when you are sleeping

you snore loudly

you wake up feeling like you haven't been asleep

you fall asleep often during the day

Do you have a hard time getting to sleep or staying asleep?

If so, what are you going to do to help yourself get a good night's sleep?