The idea of “Winter Blues” has been around for a long time. Here in Colorado the cold, altitude, and the limited daylight can make even the most motivated individual want to crawl in bed and rest. SAD symptoms include low energy, difficulty concentrating, irritability, changes in sleep, weight, and appetite, as well as depressed mood, isolation, and suicidal thoughts (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Seasonal affective disorder is a very real problem that affects 5% of people in the United States according to the American Psychiatric Association. 16,745,000 people, as of 2023, are affected by SAD. Most would agree that is a lot of people. According to the literature, many contributing factors are attributed to the prevalence of SAD including low vitamin D due to limited sunlight and high altitude (Jahan-Mihan et al., 2024; Kious et al., 2019). I am a firm believer that the body shows us what the mind refuses. In a busy world based on consumerism, profit, and productivity I wonder if SAD and Depression in general is our body’s way of telling us that something is wrong. The body is waving a red flag to make us stop, slow down, and rest. We were not made to be workers. Rest is not something that should be looked down upon but rather seen as a natural part of the human experience.

The feeling of lethargy after the burst of energy around the holidays is a common feeling that should not be discounted as laziness. In Western culture and especially here in America, we pride ourselves on working as hard as we can as often as we can. Hard work and  “pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps” can be beneficial however no one can be productive all of the time. Wintertime in different cultures, and in our own history has been seen as a time of rest and reflection. That way come spring we would have the energy to do what needed to be done to survive to the next year. Plant, harvest, rest, bond, and start again in the spring. I urge us all, including myself to remember the importance of rest as we start this new year.