Tracking mood and energy as the days get shorter

Evenings get dark earlier, mornings stay dark longer and catching some daylight gets harder. At this time of year some people feel more tired, less motivated or flatter than usual. In this post we look at how to note your mood and energy simply as the days get shorter, how to look back at your entries after a few weeks and when to ask for support.

Why might you feel different when the days get shorter?

In autumn and winter there is less daylight. The NHS, the UK's health service, says the exact cause of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) isn't fully understood, but it's thought to be linked to the reduced daylight of the winter months. Part of this explanation is that daylight may affect the body's sleep-wake rhythm.

Not everyone experiences this season the same way. For some it just means wanting a bit more sleep, for others getting up in the morning becomes harder, and some notice no difference at all. Feeling low for a day or two is also an ordinary part of life. The point of keeping a record isn't to put a label on yourself; it's to notice your own pattern.

If you'd like to get your health routine back on track this month, take a look at 5 small steps to rebuild your health routine in autumn for a broader plan. This post focuses only on recording mood and energy.

What should you note down?

You don't need to write everything down. A few small details build a meaningful picture within a few weeks:

• Mood: Mark how the day went overall on a simple scale. A few options such as “good”, “okay” and “low” are enough.
• Energy: Note separately how alert you felt during the day. There may be days when your mood is good but your energy is low.
• Sleep times: Roughly write down when you went to bed and when you got up. Exact minutes aren't needed.
• Daylight: Did you go outside during the day? Even a short walk is worth noting.
• Contact with people: Did you talk to someone, or did you spend the day alone? This can affect your mood too.
• One short sentence: Describe the day in a sentence, such as “It got dark so early, I didn't feel like doing anything after work.”

If you're new to tracking energy, we cover the basic steps in tracking your energy levels: a one-minute daily habit.

Keeping your record simple: 4 steps

On low-energy days, writing a long journal entry can feel like too much. To keep your record going, try these steps:

1. Choose a fixed moment. Pick a moment that comes around every day, such as after dinner or before bed. Let your entry become part of that moment.
2. Mark first, write later. Choose your mood and energy in a few seconds. Add a note if you feel like it; if not, just marking them is enough for that day.
3. Don't worry about empty days. If you skipped a day, don't go back and try to make it up. An empty day isn't a failure; it's simply a day without an entry.
4. Take a short look at the end of the week. Once a week, glance over your entries. You don't have to interpret anything; noticing what you see is enough.

Looking back at your entries after a few weeks

Three or four weeks of entries tell you more than single days do. When you look back, you can ask yourself:

• Do my low-energy days fall on a particular day or in a particular situation?
• Do I see a difference between the days I went outside and the days I didn't?
• Have my sleep times shifted as the days got shorter?
• How do this month's entries look compared with last month's?

These questions won't give you a conclusion; they just make clearer what you've noticed. If what you notice worries you, or you decide to see a doctor, these entries make it easier to describe what you've been going through.

The NHS's general suggestions for this time of year include spending some time in daylight every day, moving regularly, staying in touch with the people you care about, and going to bed and getting up at similar times each day. These suggestions are not a substitute for treatment, but seeing in your entries which small habits do you good can help you shape a daily rhythm that suits you.

When should you talk to your doctor?

According to the NHS, seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that follows a seasonal pattern, and it usually starts in autumn or winter. Only a doctor can make a diagnosis. Your entries are not a diagnosis, but they can help guide the conversation with your doctor.

We suggest talking to your doctor or a mental health professional if:

• Your low mood has lasted for several weeks and is affecting your daily life
• You've lost interest in things you normally enjoy
• You notice a similar change at the same time every year
• Your sleep or appetite has changed noticeably

If you have thoughts of harming yourself or ending your life, ask for help straight away: call your country's emergency number or go to your nearest emergency department. Sharing these thoughts with someone you trust is also an important step.

How do you keep this record in Oveluni?

In Oveluni you record your mood and energy in a few seconds from the “How do you feel?” section on the Today screen, or with Daily check-in in the Quick add menu. In Daily field preferences in Settings you can keep the Mood and Energy fields switched on. You can add your sleep times or a daylight note with A note.

If you set a daily check-in reminder, you get a short notification at the moment you choose. The Daily observations chart on the Insights screen shows how your weeks have gone; with Period comparison you can place two equal periods side by side. In the app's own words: “Empty days stay empty. This is your record, not a health score.” If you'd like to take your records to your doctor, you can create a PDF report. Oveluni is coming soon to the App Store.

Sources

1. NHS: Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
2. NHS Every Mind Matters: Low mood