Winter Retreats: A Reset for Seasonal Depression
Seasonal Affective Disorder: How Winter Retreats Can Reset Your Mental Health
As the days grow shorter and colder, many people notice a shift in mood, motivation, and energy. This isn’t just “winter blues” for everyone—some experience a more significant form of depression known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). SAD is a type of depression that typically appears in late autumn or winter and is strongly linked to reduced daylight exposure. Symptoms can include low energy, sadness, oversleeping, increased appetite (especially for carbohydrates), and difficulty concentrating.
If you struggle during the darker months, you’re not alone. The good news is that there are natural ways to support your mental health—and winter retreats are one of the most effective approaches for a seasonal reset. By combining outdoor activities, natural light therapy, and intentional rest, retreats can help ease SAD symptoms and give you tools for resilience throughout the year.
Understanding Seasonal Affective Disorder / Seasonal Depression
Research shows that SAD is connected to changes in circadian rhythms and serotonin levels caused by reduced sunlight in winter months (Melrose, 2015). The lack of natural light disrupts melatonin regulation, which impacts sleep cycles, and lowers serotonin, which is key for mood balance. This biological disruption explains why people with SAD often feel sluggish, oversleep, and crave comfort foods.
Traditional treatments include light therapy, exercise, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and sometimes medication. While light boxes are common, nothing quite compares to the benefits of real natural light exposure, particularly when combined with time outdoors.
Why Winter Retreats Can Help
A winter retreat offers the unique opportunity to step away from daily stress and immerse yourself in an environment designed for healing and balance. Instead of isolating indoors—a common tendency during winter—you’re invited into community, nature, and movement. Retreats provide structured programs that integrate evidence-based practices for mental health while encouraging relaxation and rest.
Here’s how retreats directly support people experiencing SAD:
1. Natural Light Therapy in Action
Spending time outdoors, even on overcast days, delivers far more lux (a measure of light intensity) than indoor artificial lighting. Outdoor winter activities such as mindful walks, forest bathing, or yoga on a sunlit deck expose you to natural light that supports circadian rhythm regulation and boosts serotonin. Research confirms that daily exposure to natural daylight can significantly reduce SAD symptoms (Wirz-Justice et al., 2020).
2. Outdoor Movement for Energy and Mood
Exercise is one of the most effective natural treatments for depression, and when done outdoors, the benefits double. Activities like guided hikes, gentle yoga, or even snowshoeing (depending on your location) combine aerobic movement with nature exposure. This pairing has been shown to reduce rumination, improve mood, and enhance overall well-being (Bratman et al., 2019).
3. Connection and Community
Isolation is a major factor in the worsening of SAD symptoms. Retreats counter this by offering safe, supportive spaces where people connect through shared experiences, group practices, and conversation. Positive social connection is a protective factor for mental health and has been linked to better resilience against depression (Santini et al., 2020).
4. Rest and Reset
Retreats are designed with rest in mind. Structured downtime, nourishing meals, and holistic practices such as meditation or breathwork provide balance. For those with SAD, retreat settings create space for both restoration and gentle reactivation, helping reset the nervous system and reduce overwhelm.
Making the Most of a Winter Retreat
If you’re considering a winter retreat to help manage SAD, here are a few tips to maximize the benefits:
Seek retreats with outdoor activities. Programs that emphasize time in nature, movement, and light exposure will support your body’s natural rhythms.
Choose locations with abundant natural light. Even in winter, some destinations offer brighter days or clearer skies.
Practice mindfulness with light exposure. Spend intentional moments outdoors at sunrise or midday when light is strongest.
Carry the practices home. Retreats provide tools and inspiration—whether it’s morning outdoor walks, breathwork, or consistent mindfulness practices—that you can bring into your daily life through winter.
Supported through winter
Feeling down in the winter months can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to push through the colder months in isolation. Winter is nature’s invitation to slow down, rest, and restore—and a retreat offers the perfect setting to align with that rhythm.
By stepping into a retreat during winter, you allow yourself the space to winter the body: to move more gently, breathe more deeply, and nourish yourself with light, movement, and community. The combination of natural light exposure, outdoor practices, and intentional rest creates the conditions for your mind and body to reset.
Instead of seeing winter as something to endure, you can embrace it as a season of renewal. A retreat gives you the opportunity to not only ease symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder but to receive the deeper benefits of restoration that the cooler months can offer. This winter, consider giving yourself the gift of retreat—you may return home lighter, brighter, and better prepared to move through the season with resilience and balance.
References
Melrose, S. (2015). Seasonal Affective Disorder: An Overview of Assessment and Treatment Approaches. Depression Research and Treatment, 2015, 178564. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/178564
Wirz-Justice, A., Benedetti, F., & Terman, M. (2020). Chronotherapeutics for Affective Disorders: A Clinician’s Manual for Light and Wake Therapy. Karger Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1159/isbn.978-3-318-06454-8
Bratman, G. N., Anderson, C. B., Berman, M. G., Cochran, B., de Vries, S., Flanders, J., ... & Daily, G. C. (2019). Nature and mental health: An ecosystem service perspective. Science Advances, 5(7), eaax0903. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax0903
Santini, Z. I., Jose, P. E., Cornwell, E. Y., Koyanagi, A., Nielsen, L., Hinrichsen, C., ... & Koushede, V. (2020). Social disconnectedness, perceived isolation, and symptoms of depression and anxiety among older Americans (NSHAP): A longitudinal mediation analysis. The Lancet Public Health, 5(1), e62–e70. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(19)30230-0