Ep. 208 — How To Brighten Your Mood This Fall Using Light Exposure, To Reduce Midlife Stress & Anxiety

Feeling more tired, anxious and  stressed as the days get shorter?
You’re not alone—your body and mind are simply responding to less daylight and seasonal change.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
1.    Why fall is the most psychologically powerful season to reset habits that decrease anxiety and stress.
2.    How light therapy and full-spectrum lighting help restore your energy, mood, and calm.
3.    Simple daily coping skills to work with your biology—not against it—for more focus and peace.
Take 12 minutes to reset your light, energy, and calm—you’re worth it.

Send us a text

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About the Host:
MJ Murray Vachon LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 48,000 hours of therapy sessions and 31 years of experience teaching her Mental Wellness curriculum, Inner Challenge. Four years ago she overcame her fear of technology to create a podcast that integrated her vast clinical experience and practical wisdom of cultivating mental wellness using the latest information from neuroscience. MJ was Social Worker of the Year in 2011 for Region 2/IN.

Creating Midlife Calm is a podcast designed to guide you through the challenges of midlife, tackling issues like anxiety, low self-esteem, feeling unworthy, procrastination, and isolation, while offering strategies for improving relationships, family support, emotional wellbeing, mental wellness, and parenting, with a focus on mindfulness, stress management, coping skills, and personal growth to stop rumination, overthinking, and increase confidence through self-care, emotional healing, and mental health support.

Episode Transcript

M.J. Murray Vachon LCSW (00:00):
In this episode, you'll discover how to
work with your body's naturalrhythm this fall turning shorter
days into a season of energy,light, and calm.

MJ Murray Vachon LCSW (00:10):
Welcome to Creating Midlife Calm, the
podcast where you and I tacklestress and anxiety in midlife so
you can stop feeling like crap,feel more present at home, and
thrive at work.
I'm MJ Murray Vachon a LicensedClinical Social Worker with over
50,000 hours of therapy sessionsand 32 years of teaching

(00:30):
practical science-backed mentalwellness.

M.J. Murray Vachon LCSW (00:34):
Welcome to the podcast.
It's November and you findyourself in the middle of fall.
Less daylight, more coziness,and some days you just wanna
curl up and pause.
I say, go for it.
Yet.
You also might be noticing thatyou feel a little more tired, a
little less motivated, maybeeven a little blue without

(00:55):
knowing why.
But what if this season wasn't aslow slide into fatigue and
stress, but actually became thebest time of year to reset, Not
by fighting the darkness, but bylearning to cooperate with your
biology.
In this episode, you'll discoverwhy fall is the most
psychologically powerful seasonto begin new habits.

(01:18):
How light therapy and fullspectrum lighting help reset
your mood and energy.
And a few simple ways to uselight and seasonal cues to calm
your anxiety, increase yourenergy without adding one more
thing to your to-do list.
Let's begin with why fall is souniquely powerful for change.

(01:40):
Psychologists call it a temporallandmark, a natural reset point
that signals a fresh start.
Kind of like New Year's withoutall the hype.
Think of that back to school.
Feeling crisp notebooks, newroutines, a clean slate.
Very well mind a psychology sitethat summarizes peer reviewed

(02:01):
research notes that seasonalmarkers like Autumn help your
brain separate the old me fromthe new me.
What does that mean?
You are invited in this seasonto bring about a bit of change.
Yes.
Fall invites you to shed what'sno longer working and plant new
seeds of routine before wintersets in.

(02:24):
Reading this research was an ahamoment for me.
In fact, yesterday I ran into afriend at the gym.
She said, I'm back.
Took the summer off.
Yep.
Fall is the time for a reset.
When the outside world changes,it gives you permission to
change inside too.
As a young therapist, I wastrained to believe

(02:45):
self-awareness brought change.
Yet with experience I learnedthat self-awareness brings
self-awareness.
Not necessarily transformation,though it certainly is the
initial step towards change.
Years ago, back in the late1980s, I worked with a midlife
executive who originally came totherapy for parenting struggles.

(03:08):
Over time, his mood dipped andhis sleep became disrupted.
I referred him to a physicianwho suggested we both read a new
book called.
Winter blues.
That's when I first learnedabout seasonal affective
disorder.
Sad.
SAD was first identified by Dr.
Norman Rosenthal at the NationalInstitute of Mental Health in

(03:28):
1984.
Within a decade, it was part ofthe cultural conversation
because so many people realizedthey weren't lazy or
unmotivated.
They were light deprived.
There's a biological reasonbehind this.
The decrease in daylight shifts,your circadian rhythm, your
internal clock, and increasesmelatonin production.

(03:51):
Earlier in the day, you feelsleepier, less motivated, maybe
a little more blue.
For many, it's the start of thewinter.
Blues, a milder form of seasonalaffective disorder.
But here's the good news now,actually the great news.
Because this change ispredictable, you can work with

(04:12):
your body instead of against it.
Fall is the perfect moment toreset your light exposure,
sleep, and self-care habitsbefore the darker months fully
arrive.
That same physician recommendedmy client try a full spectrum
light for 20 minutes a day.
Honestly, it sounded prettysilly at first, but within two

(04:33):
weeks, much to his surprise andmine, his mood began to lift.
This was my first experienceseeing light therapy in action.
So what exactly is lighttherapy?
Light therapy uses a 10,000 luxelamp, a special light box that
filters UV rays and mimicsnatural sunlight.

(04:55):
According to the Mayo Clinic andHarvard Health morning exposure
to this kind of light helpsreset your brain's clock,
reduces melatonin too early inthe day, and increases
serotonin.
The neurotransmitter tied tocalm and focus.
Think of it as charging yourbrain's solar battery research

(05:17):
shows that 20 minutes of morningexposure can reduce fatigue and
improve mood within one to twoweeks.
And it works best when it's doneconsistently.
A small daily ritual integratedinto what you are already doing
that makes a big difference.
Let me give you two examples ofhow to easily integrate light

(05:39):
therapy into your life.
Example number one, set yourlight box on the kitchen table
while you drink coffee or readthe news.
You don't have to stare at it,you just keep it angled toward
you at arm's length for about 20minutes.
Your eyes, retinal cells.
Pick up the light and sendsignal to your brain circadian
center, helping youresynchronize your sleep and

(06:01):
wake cycle and boost daytimealertness.
This is especially effective forthose of you who changed clocks
in November.
Example number two, fullspectrum lighting for everyday
use.
If you don't want to buy a lightbox, swap one lamp bulb in your
home for a full spectrum LED.
All you have to do is get onAmazon and look for light around

(06:25):
5,000 to 6,500 kelvin and 1500lumens or lighter.
I'll put these numbers in theshow notes.
These light bulbs mimic daylightand help maintain circadian cues
throughout the day.
Research at Harvard shows thatexposure to daylight light in
the morning and midday improvesalertness and reduces daytime

(06:48):
sleepiness.
All without adding one more taskto your day.
I actually use an OT light bulb,a full spectrum option and the
chair where I have coffee, readand meditate each morning.
When I first started thispractice, I realized how
effective it was because I usedthat same light at night and I
couldn't fall asleep.

(07:10):
If you want more on the sciencebehind light and sleep, check
out episode 93 on Sleep Hacks.
One of my clients once said, Ididn't realize I was running on
dim all winter until I turnedthe light back on.
Exactly.
That's really what light therapydoes.
It turns your dimmer switch upagain.

(07:30):
There is one caution to lighttherapy.
If you have bipolar disorder oreye conditions, talk to your
doctor before starting lighttherapy.
But for most people, it'ssimple, low cost, low risk, way
to lift, mood, and restoreenergy.
Once you've got your lightsorted, it's time to layer in a
few tiny habits that anchor yourcalm and amplify the healing

(07:55):
power of light PsychologistWendy Woods.
Research shows that habits arecontext dependent.
What that means is when yourenvironment changes, it's easier
to insert new routines.
So here's three you can considerintegrating into your life today
let's work on mindset.
While your light box is on, jotdown one thing you're grateful

(08:18):
for.
This pairs physiological lightactivation with emotional and
mindset regulation, a doubledose of calm.
I have a client who keeps alight box on the kitchen island
where his family eats breakfastbefore grabbing their bagels.
Each person shares one thingthey're grateful for, It's the
act of noticing that matters.

(08:39):
Small rituals that can brightenyour morning in every sense.
I also encourage clients to takea short outdoor walk.
Most mornings, even five minutesof sunlight or 10 minutes on a
cloudy day can measurablyimprove your mood.
Studies show outdoor light givesyour brain 10 to 20 times more

(09:00):
brightness than indoor light.
That burst of light signals yourbody to boost serotonin and
reset your internal clock, whichis why even a quick walk can
lift your mood and focus.
I can't always fit this indaily, but two or three times a
week, I step outside betweenclients.
I literally walk for fiveminutes.

(09:22):
It doesn't bring world peace,but it's always a small spark of
energy and a change ofperspective.
As your days shorten, give yourbrain a break from bright blue
light after 8:00 PM switch lampsto warmer bulbs, or turn on
night shift mode on all yourdevices.
That one small change helps yourbody release melatonin and

(09:46):
prepare for deeper sleep.
The most underrated copingskill.
Whenever I teach, I ask everyoneto check whether their phone is
set to night shift.
It's one of the simplest changesyou can make to help your mind
wind down.
And if you're not sure how to doit, Google how to put my phone

(10:06):
on night shift and it will walkyou through how to do it in less
than 10 seconds.
But here's the key, and I knowyou know this and I'm gonna say
it again.
Even with night shift on phonesare still stimulating, try
putting them away at least 60minutes, but ideally 90 minutes

(10:27):
before bed.
The secret is to make each habitso small, you can't fail.
You don't need to reinvent yourlife.
You just need to shift with theseason instead of resisting it
or letting it take you to aplace you don't wanna go.
Your Inner Challenge this weekis to create your own fall

(10:47):
light.
Reset for seven days, pick oneof these two options.
Option one, spend 20 minuteseach morning with a light box or
in bright daylight.
Option two, order a fullspectrum LED bulb and swap it
into your workspace.
Place it in a lamp near whereyou spend your mornings and
notice how your energy shiftsover the week.

(11:09):
Don't overthink it.
This isn't about perfection.
Just notice what happens whenyou bring a little more light
into your mornings.
Think of it as a seven dayexperiment in brightness in this
episode, we explored how fallnaturally supports change
psychologically andbiologically.

(11:30):
Go ahead, lean into it.
You learned how light therapycan balance mood while morning
exposure is so powerful and howpairing that light with tiny,
intentional habits can ease yourstress and anxiety.
These light habits aren't justfor the darker months.
They set the foundation for thekind of self-care.

(11:50):
We'll talk about on Thursdaywhere we're gonna explore why
self-care isn't a luxury.
It's actually a biologicalstrategy, and how you can turn
seasonal habits into lasting,calm as the holidays approach.
As the days get shorter,remember, you can choose to
bring the light closer, not justthrough lamps and bulbs, but by

(12:12):
small habits that brighten yourInner life by lifting your
spirits.
Thanks for listening, and I'llbe back on Thursday with more
creating midlife calm.