Beat the winter blues without pills

There's also evidence that braindamaged people can improve their vocabulary through reading. But reading should not be a burden. The idea is to feel enthralled." Top tip: switch off the TV for 20 minutes — that's the time it takes to get hooked on a good novel.

MEDITATION - Dr Raj Joshi, alternative health guru (www.thejoshiclinic.com) "Meditation has been used in yoga in India for thousands of years and is the cornerstone of Buddhist practice.

There are several theories on why meditation helps improve mood. Some experts believe it helps release endorphins or feelgood hormones. The hormones that meditation .

Pose for thought: yoga involves meditation affects are the endorphins created by the body as a natural painkiller. Some studies show these are elevated much the same as during acupuncture and massage.

Our emotions and how we react to stress can have profound detrimental effects on our health. A stressful life can lead to digestive problems like acid reflux, as well as depression. Meditation is not about sitting under a banyan tree.

It's about taking just a few minutes a day to clear your mind so you can see a way out of your problems more clearly." Top tip: stop for 15 to 20 minutes a day to calm your mind and think positive thoughts.

EXERCISE ON PRESCRIPTION - Emily Wooster, from Mind (www.time-to-change.org.uk) "Exercise raises the levels of endorphins in the brain so increases pleasure and lifts the blues. But you don't need to spend money working out on a treadmill.

Instead, you can opt for 'green exercise' which can be completely free. A recent Mind study found that 71 per cent of people reported a decrease in depression and 90 per cent had increased self-esteem after a short country walk. Whether you take a bike ride, join a walking group or plant bulbs in a garden, being active outdoors has been proven to benefit mental and physical health.

Green exercise can also be very sociable, helping people build support networks and promote inclusion in the community. This is particularly important for people who experience mental distress." Top tip: change your route to work to take in a walk through a park.

MINDFULNESS - Vanessa Hope, mindfulness instructor (www.doveclinic.com) "Mindfulness teaches you to focus on the present. And it teaches you coping Beat the winter blues skills.

A typical session would start with the patient focusing on how their body feels so they are reconnected with physical reality. The approach is very gentle — the idea is not to force people to challenge their behaviour.

Instead, they are taught to recognise just how negative thoughts. start and then let them go. You realise they are often triggered by an irrational fear of events that are unlikely ever to happen. When we are low, we interpret situations and conversations completely differently from when we are feeling upbeat.

The NHS is starting to use mindfulness in conjunction with cognitive therapy to treat depression. There is direct evidence this can half the relapse rate for patients suffering from mental health problems." Top tip: breathe easy: take 20 full breaths — it will calm you down and help you live in the moment.

CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY - Rosie Owen, holistic therapy guru who runs Cranio Health in London ( www. craniohealth. co. uk) "The cranium is the part of the skull that covers the brain. This has its own rhythmic motions and these natural movements promote the body's ability to self- heal. But this ability gets 'stuck' when you are mentally low, anxious or have a compromised immune system.

Craniosacral therapy is a gentle but powerful holistic healing method based on osteopathy and can reawaken the body's healing powers. What happens is you sit or lie on a couch and the therapist places their hands on your body. This enables them to 'listen' to your body's rhythms and the nervous system. If life is moving far too fast, then it helps get your natural rhythms working properly again.

After a session, people often notice a deep sense of relaxation and a release of tension — this should extend into everyday life. Another benefit is you have a greater capacity to manage your life. Craniosacral therapy is very much a physical therapy but is sometimes used by psychotherapists alongside 'talking' therapy.'

Top tip: close your eyes and tune in to how your body feels — and listen to what it could be trying to tell you.

NATURE THERAPY - Howard Vaughan, from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds ( www. rspb. org. uk) " With birdwatching, you get up close and personal with nature so you feel more connected. From the elegance of a red kite to the thrill of seeing something rare, unusual or out of place, there are always moments that set the heart racing. It can be as simple as getting up and feeding the birds.

I've just come back from Antarctica because I wanted to see albatrosses and it was truly amazing.

Birdwatching stimulates all your senses. At Rainham Marshes, we've got a huge flock of goldfinches but you don't have to see them. Just hearing their call touches you soul."

Top tip: put up a bird table — feeding birds encourages your " nurturing" instinct.

LIGHTEN UP - Professor Russell Foster, expert on the impact of light on body rhythms (www.lumie. com) "Conditions like seasonal affective disorder (SAD) during the dark winter months can be genuinely crippling. We've known since the Second World War that turning lights on in factories increases productivity. But what scientists have now discovered is that blue light is key in boosting our mood. Humans have a special 'brightness' detector in the eye which is linked to the body's natural clock which, in turn, regulates mood. It seems that in some people this detector is faulty, which means the lack of light in winter has a negative impact.

What light boxes [right] do is to give sufferers a huge boost of light which stimulates the receptors in the eye. But you don't have to use a light box.

There's actually a lot of natural light around in winter — you just have to expose yourself to it. The best time to get a boost is just after dawn when the quality of light is at its best."

Top tip: a morning walk is the ideal way to soak up beneficial sunlight.