ITHACA,N.Y.(WENY)-- This winter the pandemic is expected to intensify the effects of seasonal affective disorder and the winter blues. One of the main causes of SAD is the lack of sunlight and human interaction. 

Since the pandemic started, the amount of time we have been spending with loved ones and friends has shortened and recently we have switched back to a standard time which has shortened the hours of afternoon daylight. During winter months many people spend time catching up on TV shows, knitting or reading books but because of the pandemic, many have already gotten caught up on these things. 

Gyms have reopened but with another wave of COVID cases on the way many community members may not feel comfortable heading into close spaces to exercise; which is a problem because both exercise and diet play an important role in your mental health. 

Jessica Massaro, Behavioral Health Consultant, said that, due to the pandemic people who usually only have to deal with SAD and the winter blue from November to March, have been dealing with symptoms since the pandemic swept through the United States. 

“People who struggle with winter blues or seasonal affective disorder,  you are not actually having that, people are not having the same ability to really enjoy their lives in the same way,” said Massaro. “ In general people are having life stressors and there has been a spike from that, so you are not actually seeing remission as much as  we would normally expect.” 

With this year expected to be worse than the past when it comes to SAD, Massaro said community members should not hesitate to reach out to mental health professionals if they are not feeling themselves. 

Catherine Thrasher, Mental Health Promotion Program Director for Cornell Health helped bring Nature RX to Cornell University with the intention of substituting nature for other medicines. 

“There are documented, well documented both physical and mental health benefits to spending time in nature and particularly there are benefits to our fight or flight system, said Thrasher. “ So being out in nature can help lower your blood pressure, and can help reduce the release of our stress hormones like cortisol that keep us in that fight or flight state.” 

Thrasher hopes to expand this Nature RX program to the local hospitals but for now, it is only available to Cornell students.  

“ We actually have our medical and mental health providers in Cornell health prescribing time and nature to our students, what I would love to do if anybody hears this and would have the capacity to make this happen is, I would love to bring this to Cayuga Medical Group,” said Thrasher. 

Thrasher also said if for some reason you can't get outside, there are indoor alternatives that could help to combat the symptoms of SAD. 

“ It can also be very important to bring a full spectrum light bulb or lightbox indoors with you because that can help motivate you to then get outside for that 10 or 20 minutes,” said Thrasher. 

These health professionals recommend that if you are feeling down, you contact a professional in your area, and to make sure that you are not affected by SAD, spend around 10-15 minutes a day outdoors.