When Winter Gets Your Down, Change Your Home Decoration
The summer months are usually a time of fun and happiness. You have a skip in your step, the birds are singing and you have the warm sun on your face. The outlook is not always so good in winter however. Seasonal Affective Disorder is a recognized condition that affects around 2% of the population and around 10% of people report symptoms. These include depression, sleeping problems and lethargy to name a few. It is caused by a lack of sunlight in the winter months having an effect on the chemical balance in the brain. At night the receptors in the eyes report to the pineal gland that there is less light, which in turn releases a chemical called melatonin into the body, which causes us to feel sleepy and slow down.
Believe it or not we can reduce the effect of Seasonal Affective Disorder by being careful about what we surround ourselves with in our homes. Living room and bedroom furniture are often the most important to get right as these are the rooms that we spend most of our time in. Purchasing white furniture for example white wardrobes, tables and chairs will increase the amount of light that is reflected around the room and will have a large impact on mood.
If you don’t want to end up making your rooms confining or cramped, reducing the amount of furniture down to what you actually need works very well.If you have fewer pieces of furniture in a room, the light has a better opportunity to reflect around it and you will also be able to navigate it easier. It also helps painting your walls a light and airy colour to improve light reflection as well.
Some ideas for reducing the amount of furniture you have include only having your table large enough for everyday use and taking away or adding chairs if and when you need them, only have a single bedside table instead of one each side, and getting rid of small pieces that only have aesthetic value.
Don’t Blame the Drop Away