Helping Winter Blues Naturally
Guest expert Dylan Parry shares a herbalists view on tackling low mood and SAD this winter.
Living in the northern hemisphere can be tough sometimes, especially having to survive through the long, dark and harsh winters given to us in the United Kingdom.
I often find them very depressing and difficult to get through – I do not feel as jolly getting up and going outside for work or meeting friends than I do in summer and everything just seems a bit of drag in the cold and darkness…
But if you find that you struggle more in winter with low mood, then you may have Seasonal Affective Disorder, keep reading to find out how you can cope with it.
Low Mood and Seasonal affective disorder:
The majority us experience low mood on an occasional or even regular basis. However, some of us tend to experience lower moods as the weather changes as the darkness of winter approaches…. This is known as Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD for short.
Seasonal Affective Disorder symptoms have a pattern to them; they tend to appear in late autumn and in winter and reduce or disappear in spring or summer.
SAD mirrors that of low mood in its appearance, you may experience symptoms of low mood such as, sadness, a lack of wanting to socialise, low energy and a general lack of interest in life, which can be very distressing and difficult to experience.
However, if you have SAD, you may notice two additional symptoms. Your sleep may be affected—you might need to sleep more and find it difficult to wake up in the morning. People with SAD often also experience increased appetite, leading to cravings for carbohydrates or sugary foods, which can result in weight gain.
However, it is not all bad news! Approximately a third of people who experience SAD find that they feel better and more energised once spring arrives, so you just have to make it through the 4 dark months of winter…..
Why does SAD and low mood affect some more than others?
Scientific researchers are still trying to determine what specifically causes Seasonal affective disorder, its seeming to be quite a mystery. However here are a few things that they have determined:
Vitamin D, Serotonin and a Lack of Sun:
When the weather begins to change and the days become shorter, we find ourselves not going outside as frequently and our skin being exposed to sunlight reduces.
When the sun hits our skin, we begin to synthesise Vitamin D! Vitamin D has a role to play in our serotonin activity and regulation of our serotonin levels. Therefore, lower sunlight exposure means lower levels of vitamin D and lower levels of vitamin D can lead to lower levels of Serotonin.
But what is serotonin? This little guy is often referred to as your natural ‘feel good’ chemical, and 90% of it is produced in your gut whilst the remaining 10% is produced in the brain. When serotonin is being produced and released into your body at normal levels you tend to feel calmer, happier and emotionally stable. When levels dip it is usually associated with lower mood.
Seasonal affective disorder, Melatonin and circadian rhythms.
People with SAD may also have issues with their melatonin production. Melatonin is a hormone, which is secreted in response to darkness, and this causes us to feel sleepy. When our days become shorter and darker, melatonin production increases and causes those with low mood and SAD to feel lethargic and have increased tiredness.
The increased melatonin in the winter months seems to impact our circadian rhythms too. Circadian rhythms are otherwise known as the body’s internal 24-hour “clock” and keeps your body happily operating on a healthy sleep-wake cycle, so your body knows when its time to sleep and when its time to wake up! When you experience SAD you may find that your sleeping patterns change significantly, and you may struggle to adjust to the shorter days and when the clocks go back in autumn/winter, this literally causes you to be thrown own of sync and can cause you to not feel particularly adjusted to your life, which can contribute to low moods.
SO! How can herbal medicine help you to combat the winter blues?
Adaptogens:
There is a category of herbs called adaptogens, these are herbs which help the body adapt to stress and normalise physical functioning to promote overall wellbeing. They help the body get back into balance after experiencing stressful situations. Adaptogens can also be taken long-term without having to worry about side effects.
Certain adaptogens are more stimulating than others, these can be useful when you need restoring and balancing emotionally and physically, but the stimulating side of them can help lift low mood, as you do not want to be even more sedated when feeling low – you need a bit of stimulation! Rhodiola rosea is one of my favourites adaptogens to use for its stimulating yet calming mood lifting effect.
Two Herbs to calm and uplift:
There are two of my favourite herbs which help to nourish your nervous system, calm your thoughts and uplift you at the same time!
Lemon balm – Lemon balm is fantastic for the nervous system, as it is calming and relaxing, but very uplifting, which is great for helping those feel uplifted when they are ‘down in the dumps’.
Lemon balm is also a great restorer and replenisher to the nervous system, and this can help to reduce feelings of exhaustion and overwhelm, you may find that you are able to do more tasks on your to do list and not feel paralysed!
Lemon balm also has a great effect on your digestion, as this herb is rich in plant chemicals that support your gut in working properly, which will help you to digest your food, reduce bloating and cramping too! As highlighted before, 90% of your serotonin is made in your gut! So lemon balm can help you to look after it!
Rose – Hailed as the ‘queen of the flowers’ by Greek poet Sappho, this beautiful herb has been used throughout time to help lift low mood and is traditionally used where there is sadness associated with the heart, such as in grief, heartbreak or even low mood effecting your enthusiasm for life. Rose is an uplifting and gladdener of the emotional heart! Everyone needs a bit of rose in their life….
Complementary additions to taking your herbs:
Go outside more and take vitamin D!
We tend to hide ourselves away in winter and live under natural lighting, this can cause our lives to feel ‘unnatural’ and contribute to our low levels of mood.
Going outside into natural light resets our natural circadian clock, which allows us to sleep better and feel more in sync.
As previously mentioned, our vitamin D levels reduce in winter, which can disrupt our serotonin levels and make us feel low. Therefore, taking a good vitamin supplement can help reduce the effects of the lack of sunlight which we experience in winter!
Look after your gut!
As we mentioned before, 90% of your serotonin is made in your gut. Therefore, having a healthy gut microbiome can really help with how we create serotonin.
There are herbs too which act as prebiotics, reduce inflammation and contribute to proper digestive functioning such as marshmallow root, chamomile, fennel, calendula, cardamom!
Eating a varied and colourful diet, low in processed food and refined sugars can really help to keep your gut happy and healthy too!
Reference list
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National Institute of Mental Health (2023) Seasonal Affective Disorder [Online]. Available at https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/seasonal-affective-disorder (Accessed 17 July 2025).
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