When winter days get shorter, nation’s sleep and mental health get worse. Here’s how to deal

If you’re looking out your window mid-afternoon to a sunset, you’re not alone. As winter settles in and the days grow shorter, most of us are all too familiar with the fatigue that seems to come along with the season. It’s easy to point to colder weather, reduced sunlight, and overcast skies as the culprits behind those feelings of sluggishness and low mood. But here’s a twist you might not have considered: While we often think of the winter months as a time for more sleep, the shorter days might actually be messing with our sleep cycles in unexpected ways.

While the winter blues—otherwise known as Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD—are a well-known phenomenon, the winter’s shorter daylight hours can have an even more insidious effect on our bodies and minds. The deeper we dive into the science of how our sleep works, the clearer it becomes: these seasonal shifts aren’t just making us feel tired—they’re messing with our circadian rhythms, which in turn are impacting both our sleep quality and mental health. Blueprint, an AI Assistant for therapists, explains.