Seasonal Affective Disorder affects over 3 million Americans every year ranging from approximately 1 in every 100 people in Florida, to 1 in every 10 people in Alaska. SAD, also known as seasonal depression, is a mood disorder which affects individuals who have normal mental health throughout most of the year, but are affected by deep depression and other similar symptoms throughout the same time each year. Some of these symptoms can be very severe, including withdrawal from social interaction, thoughts of worthlessness, oversleeping, weight gain, difficulty concentrating, lack of energy, agitation, decreased sex drive, and even suicide.
Causes of Seasonal Affective Disorder
The leading cause of SAD is the reduced level of sunlight offsetting your biological clock or circadian rhythm which typically comes within the fall and winter months. The loss of sunlight can cause a drop in serotonin levels that triggers depression. Additionally this can disrupt your body’s level of melatonin which affects your sleep patterns and overall mood.
Current Solutions for Seasonal Affective Disorder
Since the leading cause of SAD is the lack of sunlight, the popular remedy is light therapy through a lightbox which serves to mimic the natural sunlight. Light therapy has proven to be effective with the patient sitting a prescribed distance, commonly 1-2 ft in front of the light box, with the persons eyes open but not staring at the light source for approximately 30-60 minutes a day. However, while the addition of supplemental light in one’s daily life has proven to be the most effective remedy for SAD, up to 69% of patients find the lightbox treatment inconvenient and as many as 19% completely stop use because of this.
A New, Green Solution to Seasonal Affective Disorder
However, another proven method to improve your mood is the addition of plants in your surrounding indoor environments. According to the Texas A&M University’s Department of Agriculture & Life Sciences, plants generate happiness. Having them around the home and office greatly improves people’s moods, which reduces the likelihood of depression. They help people feel secure and relaxed, while increasing levels of positive energy and one’s perceived happiness. Simply put, plants support a healthy body and a healthy mind. When battling SAD, it’s important to remember alternative remedies that can be easily incorporated into your daily life. Hanging grow lights like the Aspect provide a beautiful and natural alternative to the obnoxious light boxes. This is done not only through allowing the addition of any plant such as lavender or a peach tree, but through its supreme light quality developed specifically to imitate natural sun light. The Aspect boasts a 97 color rendering index compared to the sun’s 100. https://www.soltechsolutions.com/product/aspect-40w-black-plant-light/ If you or a loved one suffers from SAD, consider the addition of fresh, vibrant plants and a home full of light and life with the Aspect, rather than facing a giant beaming box of light for a prescribed amount of time a day.
A Pink Princess Philodendron isn't the plant you want to experiment on with a pair of dull scissors and no plan. Between the price tag and the fact that its pink coloring can be a little unpredictable, it's fair to feel more cautious cutting into this one than you would a pothos. The good news is that propagating a Pink Princess is genuinely simple once you understand the one thing that trips most people up: the pink pattern on your cutting isn't guaranteed to look exactly like the parent plant.
If your plant hasn't put out a new leaf in a while, or the leaves it is growing are small, pale, and spaced far apart on a stretched-out stem, it can feel like it's just stalled for no reason. It's not. Slow or leggy growth is almost always your plant telling you something specific, and once you know what to look for, the fix is usually simple.
If your Monstera's new leaves keep coming in solid, round, and nothing like the dramatic split leaves you've seen on other people's plants, you're probably wondering what you're doing wrong. Likely nothing. Leaf splitting, technically called fenestration, depends on a handful of specific conditions coming together, and when even one of them isn't quite right yet, your Monstera will keep producing solid leaves until it is.
