Fall is finally here! This is the most glorious time of the year. Leaves are turning yellow, and the weather is cool enough to wear your favorite sweaters. But for some, the changing of the seasons is vexing, and can lead to a sudden dip in energy, making many people wonder why they get more tired in the fall.

Many studies show that some viruses causing the common cold are more active in cooler weather, which may further lead to fall fatigue (疲劳).

However, the cold weather isn’t the only reason you may be feeling run-down this fall. The lack of sunlight can also have a significant impact on how energetic we feel. “There’s a special circuit from your eyeballs that goes directly to your brain that picks up sunlight, and the most important signal is sunlight in the morning. That sunlight in the morning helps wake you up, and also helps keep you awake all day long.” said Dr. Michael Howell, a sleep specialist. So, sleepiness is unavoidable in a season without much sunlight. When people’s exposure to sunlight is increasingly limited, some people may suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. Too often, SAD is treated as a punchline, but for the estimated 10 million Americans who suffer from it, it’s not a joke. SAD is a form of depression that is related to the change in seasons, which makes people feel tired easily. Symptoms can include high pressure, feelings of depression and a heavy feeling in arms and legs, etc. And most people experience them during the fall and winter.

While the fall is a beautiful season, the disorder it can bring to your body and mind is no joke. Be sure to put your health and wellness first as you head into fall. It’s an ideal time to cook soup and stew, clean out your room, take a walk outside, or relax with a good book. Sleep tight, my friends.

Getting enough sleep is important for people of all ages to stay in good health. Learn how much sleep you need.

People often cut back on their sleep for work, for family demands, or even to watch a good show on television. But if not getting enough sleep is a regular part of your routine, you may be at an increased risk for obesity, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke, poor mental health, and even early death.

Even one night of short sleep can affect you the next day. Not only are you more likely to feel sleepy, you’re more likely to be in a bad mood, be less productive at work, and be involved in a motor vehicle crash.

How much sleep do I need?

How much sleep you need changes as you age. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society recommend:

Age group       Recommended hours of sleep

School Age

6 — 12 years   9 — 12 hours per 24 hours

Teen

13 — 18 years   8 — 10 hours per 24 hours

Adult

18 — 60 years   7 or more hours per night

Habits to improve your sleep

· Be consistent. Go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning, including on weekends.

· Make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark, relaxing, and at a comfortable temperature.

· Remove electronic devices such as TVs, computers, and smartphones from the bedroom.

· Avoid large meals, caffeine, and alcohol before bedtime.

· Don’t use tobacco.

· Get some exercise. Being physically active during the day can help you fall asleep more easily at night.

What about sleep quality?

Getting enough sleep is important, but good sleep quality is also essential. Signs of poor sleep quality include feeling sleepy or tired even after getting enough sleep, repeatedly waking up during the night, and having symptoms of a sleep disorder(such as snoring or gasping for air). Better sleep habits may improve the quality of your sleep. If you have symptoms of a sleep disorder, such as snoring or being very sleepy during the day after a full night’s sleep, make sure to tell your doctor.

Do you see a bird right now? Can you hear one chirping? If so, you might be getting a mental health boost. A study recently published in the journal Science found that being in the presence of birds made people feel more positive.

Andrea Mechelli, a psychologist at King’s College London, found himself studying the natural world accidentally. Initially he was searching for answers to why people who lived in cities seemed to tend to suffer mental illness, particularly psychosis. In 2015, he created the smartphone app Urban Mind to search for patterns in users’ environments. “Our first finding is that nature has a very powerful effect,” says Mechelli. He and his colleagues then wondered if some aspects of nature were more beneficial than others. They turned to birds for their ubiquity (普遍存在) in rural and urban environments.

Their latest study included 1,292 participants mainly in the United Kingdom and Europe. For two weeks, participants were prompted to fill out a questionnaire about their surrounding environment and their mental state three times a day. Mechelli performed a statistical analysis that found an obvious improvement in wellbeing when birds were present, even when eliminating other factors like the presence of trees or waterways. The mental health benefit was true both for people who disclosed a depression diagnosis and those without any diagnosed mental health conditions.

Peter James, an environmental health scientist at Harvard, would like to see more data. He found that environmental health studies like these lack diversity. Yet, a psychologist at Trent University in Canada, Lisa Nisbet says, “This kind of study helps us understand how people’s everyday experience with specific elements of nature, such as birds, can be restorative.”

Appreciating birds seems to be a promising avenue for nature-based health and wellbeing interventions. At Mechelli’s clinical practice in London, he focuses on early intervention therapies. He suggests his patients go for walks to observe the trees and plants growing in the city, and the bird fluttering by from branch to branch. “It has no side effects,” he says. “It’s something they could try, and they have nothing to lose.”