As the days get shorter, many of us notice our energy dipping and our mood shifting. Mornings feel heavier, evenings shrink, and the motivation that carried us through summer quietly slips away. Seasonal transitions can be hard, but small, practical changes to how we use our days can make a real difference. Here are the simple tools I share with clients every fall to help them get ahead of the darker months.
Coping With Seasonal Change, Small Tools for Brighter Days in the Darker Months
As the leaves turn and the days get shorter, many of us notice a shift. Mornings feel heavier and the couch looks more inviting by 5 p.m. If you have been feeling sluggish or a little less like yourself lately, you are not imagining it, and you are not alone.
Seasonal transitions ask a lot of us. Here are the tools I share with clients every fall to help them get ahead of their struggles with the seasonal change.
How Does Less Sunlight Affect Mental Health?
Light signals our internal body clock, or circadian rhythm, which helps regulate alertness, sleep, and mood (Blume et al., 2019). When daylight hours shrink, that signal becomes weaker.
The effects of a lack of sunlight vary. Many people notice lethargy and low energy, changes in sleep, or less interest in things they usually enjoy. For most, these seasonal mood shifts are mild. The Canadian Mental Health Association estimates that about 15 percent of Canadians experience a milder form of seasonal low mood, while 2 to 3 percent will experience Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) in their lifetime (CMHA BC Division, 2013).
Start by Mapping Your Day
Before changing anything, get curious about how your days look right now. This is where I begin with clients.
Do you work or study from home, or do you leave the house? What time do you head out and come back, and is it light or dark? How are you spending your mornings and evenings now, and has that changed since summer?
Many people discover they now wake up in the dark and fill evenings with screens instead of the walks that kept them going in July and August. Noticing these patterns gives you a starting point.
BC Clocks Will Not Fall Back This Year, What That Means for Your Mood
British Columbia has adopted permanent daylight saving time, so clocks will not fall back on November 1, 2026 (Government of British Columbia, 2026). Alberta is making a similar change, while clocks in Ontario fall back as usual.
For BC readers, this means two things. Evenings gain about an hour of daylight, with sunset in Victoria and Vancouver staying after 5 p.m. right through December instead of just after 4 p.m. (National Research Council Canada, n.d.). Mornings, however, stay dark longer. Sunrise moves from around 8 a.m. now to just after 9 a.m. by late December.
Longer evenings are a real opportunity to add more into our days, while darker mornings make getting light early even more important.
Get Light Early, Like a Flower Turning Toward the Sun
Think of yourself a little like a flower. Flowers open and bloom in the sunshine, and our mood and energy often respond in a similar way. Getting light early in the day helps your body clock recognize that it is time to be awake (Blume et al., 2019).
With sunrise arriving just after 9 a.m. by December, many of us will wake up in the dark. Build in moments of light as soon as it is light outside. Step outside with your morning coffee, set up your desk near a window, or take a short outdoor break mid morning. Small moments of light add up.
Light Therapy for Seasonal Depression, Are SAD Lamps Worth Trying?
On dark mornings, a light therapy lamp, often called a SAD lamp, can offer a helpful alternative. Research describes bright light therapy as a well supported option for seasonal depression, commonly using a 10,000 lux light box for 30 to 60 minutes a day (Campbell et al., 2017).
Light therapy can have side effects, so check in with a healthcare provider before starting (CMHA BC Division, 2013), especially if you have a history of bipolar disorder or eye conditions.
Find Your Daylight Window, Even on Rainy Days
If you are commuting to work or school in the dark, look for pockets of daylight during the day. A short walk at lunch can make a real difference, even when it is raining. Here in BC, waiting for a perfectly sunny afternoon could mean waiting until March. The CMHA recommends making a daily noon hour walk a habit, particularly for people who travel to work or school during the dark hours of the day (CMHA BC Division, 2013).
Grab an umbrella, invite a coworker, and treat it as a reset.
Click this link to read further about how movement can support your mood.
Plan Your Time Before the Shift Arrives
Get ahead of it. Start planning activities now, before you feel that shift in mood. Once low energy sets in, it becomes much harder to get started, and that is usually when the couch wins.
This idea reflects behavioural activation, a core part of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for depression. In a large randomized trial, CBT adapted for seasonal depression worked about as well as light therapy (Rohan et al., 2015).
If you cannot do your usual summer activities, use this season to try something new. A winter bucket list can help. Jot down ideas now, while your energy is higher, so you do not have to think of them later. A few ideas to get you started include:
- Trying a new recipe each week
- Signing up for a pottery, climbing, or dance class
- Starting a weekly games night with friends
- Planning a winter hike or storm watching walk
Rest, Sleep, and Low Energy, Building From a Consistent Foundation
Sometimes we need a little more rest going into winter. After the busy days of summer, this is a time of adjustment, and it is okay to slow down.
At the same time, consistency with sleep is really important. Think of your sleep schedule as the foundation you build your day from. While it is tempting to sleep in on dark mornings or take long afternoon naps, these habits can throw off your circadian rhythm. That often leaves you more sluggish and makes it harder to get going.
Aim to wake up at the same time each day, including weekends, and pair it with morning light whenever you can. If sleep has become a struggle this season, CBT for insomnia offers practical tools to help reset your sleep without medication.
For more information on CBT for insomnia, check out this article.
When You Need a Little More Support
Adjusting to seasonal change is not easy. How we spend our time can look very different in the darker months, and that can really impact our mood. Planning ahead and getting outside as much as we can may help, but it is also okay if you need a little more support getting through this period.
At Cognito, our CBT care providers can support you in turning these tools into a plan that fits your routine, and help you stick with it through the darker months.
Want to talk to someone about your mental health? Book a free 15 minute Discovery Session with on of our Cognito Providers where we will listen and share how Cognito might support you this winter season.
Disclaimer: This post is for education and self-awareness. It is not a diagnosis or replacement for therapy.
References
Blume, C., Garbazza, C., & Spitschan, M. (2019). Effects of light on human circadian rhythms, sleep and mood. Somnologie, 23(3), 147–156. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6751071/
Campbell, P. D., Miller, A. M., & Woesner, M. E. (2017). Bright light therapy: Seasonal affective disorder and beyond. The Einstein Journal of Biology and Medicine, 32, E13–E25. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6746555/
Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Division. (2013). Seasonal affective disorder. https://bc.cmha.ca/documents/seasonal-affective-disorder-2/
Government of British Columbia. (2026, March 2). Adopting permanent daylight saving time [News release]. https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2026AG0013-000209
National Research Council Canada. (n.d.). Sunrise/sunset calculator.
Rohan, K. J., Mahon, J. N., Evans, M., Ho, S. Y., Meyerhoff, J., Postolache, T. T., & Vacek, P. M. (2015). Randomized trial of cognitive behavioral therapy versus light therapy for seasonal affective disorder: Acute outcomes. American Journal of Psychiatry, 172(9), 862–869. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25859764/
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