It is half past four and the kitchen light is already on. Outside, the street lamps have flickered into life, the garden has disappeared into the dark, and the person we are sitting with has not been out since Sunday. The days have simply got shorter, and with them the energy for the things that usually make a week feel like a week.

Every year, as the clocks go back, we see a version of this moment in the homes we support. The darker months ask more of everyone, especially people already living with a mental health condition. Here is what we try to do differently between now and the spring.

Why the darker months can feel heavier

Less daylight changes how a day feels. Mornings start in the dark, afternoons end in it, and the hours in between can slip past without anyone stepping outside. The NHS describes seasonal affective disorder, often shortened to SAD, as a type of depression that usually happens in the winter. The signs it lists will be familiar to many families: low mood, losing interest in things that are normally enjoyed, feeling more tired, sleeping more and eating more.

Not everyone who feels flatter in November has SAD, and we are careful not to put labels on a low week. But the pattern is common enough that we plan for it rather than wait for it. For the people we support, winter rarely arrives on its own. It lands on top of whatever someone is already carrying.

Daylight, movement and routine

The NHS advice for getting through winter well is reassuringly practical: get as much natural daylight as you can, keep moving, stay in touch with the people who matter, keep up your usual activities, and try to go to bed and get up at the same times each day. None of that is complicated. The hard part is doing it on a grey Tuesday when the sofa is warm and the pavement is wet.

So we build it into the shape of the day. A walk to the shop happens before lunch rather than after it, while there is still light to walk in. Curtains open as part of the morning routine. Appointments and errands are booked for the brightest part of the day where we can. If someone has a goal in their support plan about getting out more, we make it specific for winter: which day, which route, who is coming along. A reason to leave the house is worth more than a reminder to.

Noticing the changes early

The people who support someone every day are the first to notice when something shifts. A group that is usually looked forward to gets missed. Mornings start later. The shared kitchen is quieter than it was. On their own, none of these mean very much. Together, over a couple of weeks, they tell us something.

Our key workers are not there to diagnose. They are there to notice, and then to ask. A gentle “you seem a bit quieter this week, how are things?” opens more doors than any form. When someone tells us winter is a hard time for them, we write that into their support plan in their own words, along with what has helped before, so that whoever is on shift in January knows what to look for and what to do about it.

Staying connected when it is easier to stay in

Dark evenings make it very easy to disappear. Loneliness and low mood feed each other, so connection is something we protect on purpose. That might look like a shared meal on a set evening each week, a lift to a group that would otherwise be missed, or a regular video call with a relative who lives too far away for a winter visit. With the person’s agreement, we keep families in the loop when things feel harder, because a text from home can lift a day in a way we cannot. And we try to put something on the calendar to look forward to, however small, so the weeks are heading somewhere.

When it is more than the winter blues

Sometimes the low mood does not lift, or it starts to get in the way of eating, sleeping or feeling safe. The NHS advice is clear: if you think you might have SAD, speak to a GP. Talking therapies can help, and adults can refer themselves to NHS talking therapies without going through a GP first. Some people find a light box useful, though the NHS suggests talking to a GP before buying one.

Our role is to make that step easier. We will help book the appointment, go along if that is wanted, and make sure what the GP says finds its way into the support plan. If someone ever needs to talk right now, Samaritans are free on 116 123 at any time of day or night, and NHS 111 is there around the clock too.

Looking after the people who do the supporting

Our staff drive to work in the dark and home again in the dark, and they are not immune to any of this. So the same advice applies to them, and we say it out loud: get outside on your break, keep your own routines, talk to your manager if the season is wearing you down. A team that is looked after looks after people better.

Spring is coming, but we are not waiting for it

The darker months pass. Until they do, we would rather fill them with daylight walks, warm kitchens, honest conversations and the odd thing to look forward to. If you are a family member who is worried about someone this winter, or you would like to know more about how we support mental health in supported living, we would love to talk. Get in touch through the Contact Salis page on our website, or call us on 0118 405 0199.