TheraLite Radiance Light Therapy Lamp

Seasonal depression is something i've been dealing with on and off since i moved out to portland oregon back in 2016. the summers here are beautiful and warm and sunny but the winters can really get gloomy it gets dark at 4 pm and even during the day you can barely tell it's light out anyway over the years i've found quite a few tips and strategies that really helped mitigate the effects of seasonal depression for me so today we're going to be covering some of my best tips for combating and dealing with seasonal depression or seasonal affective disorder really quick before we get into though i have two things i want to talk about one the background is different i have been working on making some upgrades to my youtube studio slash home office i'm gonna be sharing more in the coming weeks for what i've got going on back there i'm really excited about it hopefully you like the new look the other thing i want to talk about though i am not a medical doctor this is not medical advice always consult your physician before making any kind of changes to your daily routine this is just what has worked for me not specific medical advice for you so just take that for what it is but enough with the disclaimers let's get into the tips the first thing i wanted to talk about today is exercise i think exercise is a really important part of everyone's regular routine for just general well-being but it gets even more important during these gloomy winter months the key for me has been to keep it simple and light i would actually argue that you shouldn't go through that really intense exercise unless you enjoy it and are already used to it i like to do bodyweight exercises in my office during the mornings it's just a great way to get your muscles going and your blood pumping it's quick you know i usually only do 5 to 15 minutes in the morning and i don't even do that every day but i try and aim for most days the other thing that i do that i've kind of refallen in love with this year is hiking i think getting out and doing some walking or hiking is a great way to get in some exercise and it's a great way to see nature and it's a great way to see you know even if you're just in your neighborhood you get to see your neighborhood in a little bit of a different light if you're just used to driving by and parking your car and going into your home for me when i'm walking through the city or hiking out in nature it's a great time for me to process my thoughts kind of feel like that moving body moving brain sort of vibe going on usually when i'm out and about and because i don't walk to work anymore i definitely try and recreate that as much and as often as possible on a similar note spending time in nature on a regular basis has been a huge help for me with dealing with seasonal affective disorder there's actually a term for this called forest bathing it originated in japan and has since kind of spread around the world i don't know if you've heard of it before wherever you live but i know in the united states i've been hearing it more and more frequently over the past five years or so there are a lot of studies done where exposure to nature you know specifically a forest in this case can actually have a lasting benefit to your mental health this also kind of ties in with the exercise so you can kind of double up and kill two birds with one stone so i would recommend even if you don't have you know beautiful nature wherever you live i know i'm unbelievably spoiled living in the pacific northwest we have some of the best nature out here but no matter where you live i'm sure you've got some trees or some nice fields or meadows or something you can go walk around in and just quiet your mind for me you know it really helps reset my attention span and just take my headphones off listen to the sounds of nature walk around i get exercise i get that nature exposure and i end up leaving feeling so much better than i did when i came in another thing that has helped me immensely over the years is light therapy light therapy is essentially using an artificial light to help emulate the sun to help fix some of the hormonal imbalances that take place when you're in darker environments for extended periods of time like the winter months when you're in that darkness all of the time your body will actually release more melatonin during the day which can make you really sleepy and groggy and because of that early release of melatonin it can actually cause for you to have trouble falling asleep at night as well so not having that proper sleep and just being slow and sluggish and lazy during the day can really have terrible effects on your mood and your mental health they actually make what they call therapy lights and what you want to do is usually spend about 15 to 30 minutes in front of a therapy light on a daily basis if you're able it's actually rounds perfectly into the sponsor of today's video i want to take a minute to thank carex for sending out their theralate or achieve for me to test and try and also for reaching out and offering to sponsor a video covering seasonal affective disorder for all of you i've used several different therapy lights over the years and i can honestly say that the theralite orachi has been the best one i've used to date it gets up to 10 000 lux which is super bright if you're not familiar with the lux system and it's actually the recommended amount of light from doctors for you know effective light therapy it has four different brightness settings so you can kind of dial it in based on your preferences and maybe how far away you have the light i tend to use it either at my desk or actually in my kitchen when i'm making breakfast in the morning on top of that though it actually has a built-in qi wireless charger hence the name you do have a usb port as well if you want to charge something that doesn't have wireless charging it also has a regular clock an alarm clock and a thermostat it comes out to 78 dollars which is super reasonable compared to some of the other ones i've tried they have payment plan options on their website they have free shipping and a 90-day return policy so if for some reason it doesn't work out you can just send it back but you can also use code josh20 for 20 off your light if you're interested in picking one up i would highly recommend them huge thanks again for sponsoring today's video when you find yourself in a bit of a funk i think developing and maintaining some good routines in your day-to-day can be really beneficial sometimes if you're just feeling really sluggish or having a bad morning or a bad day you know knowing you have those normal practices that you do can kind of help get your body up and going and get your brain into that mindset that might be a little bit more positive it can also be a really great strategy to practice some mindfulness and kind of have some indirect meditation i'm not someone that meditates on a regular basis but i tend to find kind of meditative practices in you know doing chores around my house or making breakfast in the morning all those activities that are more physical than mental kind of give me that opportunity to practice more mindfulness and being present and in my own body it also gives me a lot of time to process my thoughts and emotions it can have a very similar effect to just dedicated meditation so if that doesn't sound like it's for you it's never been something i've been able to do successfully long term but this has been a great alternative and has had similar benefits if not better benefits for my case specifically next up we're talking about sleep something that is so crucially important to your mind and body and also something that so few people are able to do successfully there's something called sleep hygiene that is really important and it's not hygiene in the soap and water sense it's more in your nightly routines before bed and your sleeping environment itself so invest in a good quality mattress invest in blackout curtains if you don't have them already also invest in a good nightly routine you know try and avoid screens a little bit before bed if you're able to and just get yourself in the mindset of you know this area is for sleep and sleep alone the hormones that get released in your brain that tell you it's time to sleep will literally stop coming if you spend a lot of time during the day doing things that aren't sleeping in your bed this is something where you kind of have to do a little bit of everything for it to be successful but nothing that you have to do is overly difficult or time-consuming or expensive so try and implement as many of these as you can because they all kind of connect with each other in different ways sometimes what can feel like seasonal affective disorder or seasonal depression or just feeling low for extended amounts of time during the winter months can actually be from bigger problems in situations with real depression and anxiety and stress and there are just tons of different things that could be bigger problems that could be causing what seem like smaller symptoms if you've been dealing with a lot and have never seen a therapist it might be time to give that a try there are a ton of options out there it's worth the investment if you need it and on a personal level it's not always super clear if you know if you need it or not so if you do have you know good insurance that'll cover it to make it very inexpensive you know give it a try if you've been really having difficulty there's little to no stigma or home therapy these days and and talking to someone can be so beneficial if you're struggling don't be afraid to reach out and if for some reason you're not able to you know cover the cost of a therapist you know try and find friends or family or support systems out there that can help that you can at least talk to them but having a professional is definitely what i would recommend if you're able to apologies in advance for this next one being a little broad and idealistic the dreamer mind in me is speaking on this last one but i think it's important to find things in your life to get excited about i'm 31 about to be 32 in a few months so i'm not overly young and i'm also not overly old either but i think in my 31 years of living i have had quite a few adventures and things to be excited about i've always been someone who's always had a side project or you know a hobby to really deep dive into you know just something to get excited about to break up the monotony of regular day-to-day life you know it's easy to get in that grind of you know working errands chores sleep and you just kind of rinse and repeat and you're too tired to do anything but you know watch netflix when you get home from work you know try and find something to get yourself up and out of bed and excited for your days i know for me personally when i'm at my lower points with depression or anxiety it's always periods of time where i don't have anything going on to be excited about for me though recently you know working on the studio changes has just got me up and excited beyond belief and earlier in the year you know getting out hiking and backpacking try and create that zest for life as much as you can there's a level of deciding that you want to try and have a good day you know obviously it's easier said than done and you're not always going to be successful but there is definitely a mindset shift between you know wallowing in your sadness or trying to crawl out of it and clinical depression and you know anxiety disorders are no joke and i'm not minimizing that at all always see your doctor use medication if you need therapy is excellent as i already spoke about but you know for more mild versions or things that you might be dealing with on your own completely solo just try and get excited has always helped a ton for me and i think it'll help for you too that was actually my final tip and this wraps up the video you know try and implement as many of these as possible if you're struggling even if you're not you know it's usually a preventative measure to try and be happy and healthy and it's just a good thing to do in general anyway i'd love to hear if you have any tips that you want to share with me or anyone else in the audience let's get a good discussion going uh thank you all so much for watching i'd love to hear your thoughts on the new studio background like i said videos coming soon sharing some of this stuff so thank you all so much for watching and for the support i'll talk to you next week [Music] you