Despite the cold, winter has its beauty: The sparkling holiday season, crisp air that wakes you up like a cup of coffee, and lots of time with loved ones - what’s not to love?! …Well, there is one thing: those sad, moody vibes that can tag along as the new season sets in. We call them the winter blues and they can really dampen the festive mood. Our tried and tested solution? At-home biofeedback. Keep reading to find out how biofeedback can help you beat the winter blues and bask in the joy that the season brings!
What Are The Winter Blues?
The hallmark signs of winter blues include feeling extra sad, moody, or tired as fall and winter enter the scene. As we experience shorter days and a tendency to hibernate indoors, the lack of daylight can push our body’s circadian rhythm out of whack which results in feeling low. Although feeling down during the winter months is completely common, there are steps you can take to ease the downside. But first, ask yourself: Are you suffering from winter blues or seasonal affective disorder?
Depression During Winter: Winter Blues vs Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
The winter blues and seasonal affective disorder are not the same and each has unique treatment options. SAD is a form of depression while winter blues are akin to sadness. SAD affects your daily routine and life, while the winter blues still allow you to function as normal, although less optimally. Here’s a further breakdown: Winter Blues Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Feeling more moments of sadness than usual
- Short-term disruption to your sleep cycle
- Increased mood swings
- Lethargy or tiredness, even after a good sleep
- Still able to experience breakthrough moments of joy throughout your day
- Oversleeping
- Weight gain
- Loss of interest in activities that once brought you joy
- Anxiety
- Feeling hopeless or worthless
- Severe sadness for most of the day
- Unable to function as normal, affecting your personal life and career
If your symptoms are more in line with SAD, it’s best to seek professional help for guidance on your next best steps.
How To Beat The Winter Blues With The Biofeedback Device, Reflect
There’s another way to look at winter blues: a time for rest and reflection. In Eastern traditions, winter is seen as a unique opportunity to reconnect with your body’s rhythm as it realigns with nature. The earth is naturally quieter as plants lie dormant and animals hibernate - and this silence is an invitation to slow down and reconnect with your personal growth.
Reflect’s biofeedback device can help guide you on that journey. Reflect instantly connects you with your body by giving you an accurate snapshot of your stress and anxiety levels. You can measure what’s going on internally, in real-time, and actively work to bring things back into harmony.
5 Ways Biofeedback Cures Winter Blues
Ready to say goodbye to the moody blues and welcome brighter days? Let’s dive deeper into how exactly biofeedback helps.
1. Get A Handle On Your Emotions
Sadness is normal. So is happiness, excitement, grief, joy, anger…and so on. The human experience is peppered with a rainbow of emotions, and there’s no way around it.
After all, it’s what separates us from most other species on this planet! So instead of trying to escape or suppress them, sit with them. When you can become the observer – instead of getting caught up in the emotion – you lift yourself out of negativity a lot faster. A daily meditation practice paired with a biofeedback device can help.
A device like Reflect tracks your progress and reminds you to carve out time to sit with yourself and just be. With regular practice, your emotions won’t be in control…you will.
2. Decrease Anxiety & Increase Relaxation
Your heart rate goes up. You start sweating. Your breathing gets heavier. These are some of the common signs of anxiety as your fight-or-flight response is triggered. Although this response is essential to survival, it can also be triggered when you’re not under any real threat - like over a stressful deadline, a negative news story, or the effects of winter blues. Reflect’s biofeedback device helps you break the loop and trigger relaxation instead.
By using different colors to indicate whether your body is in a stressed or relaxed state, Reflect trains your brain to activate your relaxation response when your nervous system needs a breather.
3. Revitalize Your Mind & Body Connection
When was the last time your mind said ‘go!’ but your body said ’nope’? Life is busy and it happens to the best of us. When the body speaks, it’s easy to ignore it or not even hear it when you’re in the throes of banging through your tasks. This disconnection between your mind and body keeps you in a state of stress, which can strain immunity and other bodily functions that keep you healthy. Plus, it makes the effects of winter blues a whole lot worse. Biofeedback can be the bridge between your mind-body connection. It brings your attention to your body’s (often unnoticed) involuntary actions so you know exactly when you need to pull back and when you’re ready to charge forward.
4. Develop More Self-Compassion
In a world where perfectionism, people-pleasing, and a lack of healthy boundaries are the norm, a practice of self-compassion is a must. Especially when winter is bringing your mood down. Biofeedback gives you objective measurements of your physiological responses so you can see exactly how stressed you are. Objective insights make it easier to give yourself permission to rest because there’s no arguing that your body really needs it.
5. Spend Less Time On The Screen
We don’t know about you, but we’re always looking for ways to spend less time online. Especially since studies show a link between smartphone usage and increased anxiety and depression and poor sleep. That also means your phone can amplify the negative effects of winter blues on your body. A daily relaxation practice is a perfect excuse to take yourself away from the screen to spend some quality time with yourself. Pairing your practice with an at-home biofeedback device can ground you in the present moment and help you leave all of the online noise behind. The road to mental well-being takes daily practice and opening yourself up to new ways of self-care. If you’re looking to get a handle on winter blues (and your overall health), biofeedback can help.
Experience inner peace and growth with Reflect.
