Are you experiencing the winter blues? While it’s common for the longer nights and bad weather to negatively affect your mood, feeling fatigued and unmotivated shouldn’t be the norm during the winter months. If you’re experiencing low mood and have difficulty focusing for longer than two weeks, you may have seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Seasonal affective disorder can disrupt circadian rhythms, affecting sleep patterns and causing hormone imbalance. Symptoms of seasonal affective disorder include:

• Low energy
• Having trouble concentrating
• Feeling irritable, angry or anxious
• Having difficulty sleeping
• Feelings of hopelessness

These symptoms can affect your daily life and become disruptive if not treated. It’s unreasonable to have to wait until spring before things start improving, so if you’re experiencing any of these symptoms it’s important you speak to your doctor.

Your doctor will then be able to prescribe you one of the following treatments:

• Talking therapy (either Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or counselling)
• Antidepressants
• Light therapy
• Vitamin D supplements
• Exercise

But, what if we told you nootropics are a natural remedy to feeling lethargic and uninspired as well?

Light therapy is a recognised treatment for beating seasonal affective disorder. But, its effectiveness varies from individual to individual. Having your vitamin D levels checked is also a common course of action. Taking a Vitamin D supplement will help improve feelings of tiredness, and achiness and can boost your mood. However, it’s unclear and uncertain whether vitamin D can help with concentration.

New research indicates that nootropics may be a good alternative or complementary remedy to combating SAD symptoms. A recent study conducted by the University of British Columbia, found that the nootropic Tryptophan was effective in reducing symptoms of seasonal affective disorder. Other effective nootropics for mood, include:

• Grape seed extract
• Omega 3
• Citicoline
• L-Theanine
• Ashwagandha

Nootropics for mood enhancement were also found to be successful at beating seasonal affective disorder and easing symptoms such as being unable to focus. Further research suggests that nootropics can help balance hormones which can relieve SAD symptoms.

L-Theanine, found in Brite, has been identified to instil feelings of calm and boost concentration. L-Theanine is a herb present in green and black tea that has been consumed for hundreds of years. Results from a 2017 study showed symptoms of insomnia, depression and anxiety were improved by taking 250mg of L-Theanine everyday.

In Pukka’s list of natural remedies to help beat seasonal affective disorder, Ashwagandha was mentioned for being effective at easing/improving fatigue, tension, nervousness and low mood. Organic Ashwagandha is found in Brite too, included to help reduce stress and anxiety.

Each Brite drink contains a delicious mixture of nootropics to boost your mood, increase productivity and improve your concentration. They can be enjoyed throughout winter to help beat seasonal affective disorder. Brite drinks are hydrating, which can also help with symptoms such as headaches, and they won’t cause the spike and crash like coffee does.

We have more information about the science behind nootropics and a list of scientific studies to validate the effectiveness of nootropics.

Beat the winter blues with Brite!