Fall in Pittsburgh means shorter days, cooler weather, and often gray skies. For some people, this type of weather can give them a case of the “fall and winter blues”, known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD). It’s natural to feel more sluggish and to have your mood affected by the weather; however, did you know that adding mirrors in your home can help you avoid some of those feelings? Don’t brush off that yearly feeling as simply a seasonal funk that you have to tough out on your own. You can take steps to keep your mood and motivation steady throughout the year. Let’s review how mirrors in your home can help you avoid a case of the “fall and winter blues”.
What Is Seasonal Affective Disorder?
According to Mayo Clinic, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons — SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year. If you’re like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody.
The National Institute of Mental Health associates SAD with the below symptoms:
– Oversleeping (hypersomnia)
– Overeating, particularly with a craving for carbohydrates
– Weight gain
– Social withdrawal (feeling like “hibernating”)
– Tiredness or low energy
SAD largely stems from not getting enough sunlight, which affects your circadian rhythm. The sunlight reduction in the colder months may disrupt the body’s serotonin and melatonin levels, which further affects your sleep patterns.
How can Mirrors in Your Home Help You Avoid a Case of the “Fall and Winter Blues”?
Did you know that seeing your reflection can actually help to improve your mood? Studies have found that mirrors are associated with improving and supporting psychological well-being. In the fall and winter, if you are trying to avoid SAD, mirrors may actually help.
Mirrors can also be an easy way to add more sunlight back into your home, which, as noted above, can help with the colder season’s lack of such and its impact on your mood and well-being. Adding mirrors in your home helps to reflect light and brighten things up. You can use the reflective quality of mirrors to refract light into your rooms.
You should find the best place for mirrors in your home, where they will reflect the most sunlight and have the largest impact. Look for areas around your home where you can catch the natural sunlight and take advantage of it. You’ll also want to experiment with where the sunlight is reflected the most. The goal is not just to have a sunny glare, but to actually illuminate the dark corners of your room and home and bring in as much light as possible.
Pittsburgh Glass and Mirror Professionals
No one wants to find themselves down in the dumps in the fall and winter, so there is no better time to invest in some new mirrors for your home to help you avoid a case of the “fall and winter blues”. Residential Glass can help.
At Residential Glass, we install mirrors. We’re Pittsburgh’s mirror specialists. Our free quote, expert installation process, and lifetime warranty makes us your go-to source for mirror replacement and new installation.
No matter what size or style of mirror you’re looking for, we can help. Contact us to get started on your free quote, and a mirror expert will get in touch with you to talk about your options.
