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A project which helps people struggling with low mood during the winter months checkout some sunlight from their local library is heading to one of Scotland\u2019s most remote communities this winter.<\/p>\n
Residents of the Orkney Islands will be able to borrow a Wintering Well Box from their library after the clocks go back on Sunday 26 October and days become shorter.<\/p>\n
The introduction of the boxes to Orkney marks a significant expansion of the Wintering Well programme, following a successful pilot of the loan scheme in East Dunbartonshire libraries last year.<\/p>\n
Interest in the Wintering Well Box has also crossed the Irish Sea, with Dublin\u2019s library services also set to trial a version of the same scheme this coming winter.<\/p>\n
The boxes offer a therapeutic lamp to help counteract the negative effects of low light levels on mental health during the darkest period of the year, along with a guidebook with tips on simple indoor and outdoor activities which can help develop a healthy new winter routine. The boxes also offer access to a free online course helping users tackle the effects of seasonal affective disorder (SAD).<\/p>\n
The resources in the Wintering Well Box were designed by a project team from the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh and developed in partnership with people who live with SAD during the winter months.<\/p>\n
The box-loan concept was successfully introduced last winter in libraries in Greater Glasgow through an award-winning research partnership with East Dunbartonshire Leisure and Culture. More than 200 loans with 349 renewals were recorded by the library service, and the research team\u2019s evaluation of the programme showed overwhelmingly positive feedback from library users.<\/p>\n
Libraries across East Dunbartonshire are running the scheme again this year, and will share Wintering Well boxes north to Orkney.<\/p>\n
Orkney Library Services\u2019 mobile library van, known locally as \u2018Booky McBookface\u2019, will help distribute boxes across the Orkney Islands, where residents experience less than six hours of daylight by midwinter.<\/p>\n
Community link practitioners from Voluntary Action Orkney are also helping promote the scheme, along with a range of Wintering Well activities, which can benefit people who experience low mood during the season of low light. The practitioners work alongside GP practices on mainland Orkney as part of the Primary Care team, with the role funded via the Primary Care Improvement Plan.<\/p>\n
The development of the Wintering Well boxes is part of the UKRI-funded research project \u2018Living with SAD\u2019, led by Professor Hester Parr of the University of Glasgow.<\/p>\n
Professor Parr, of the University\u2019s School of Geographical & Earth Sciences, said: \u201cAccording to the Royal College of Psychiatry, more than a million people across Britain experience symptoms of SAD, including emotional challenges, lowered mood, and feelings of anxiety. However, they often have very limited access to social or medical support to help them through winter.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur Wintering Well Boxes are aimed at helping people find ways to deal with those feelings through creative activities while finding connection and support with others who struggle with low mood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re delighted to extend our work in partnership with community services in the Orkney Islands. Life in remote, rural and island locations can be challenging for those with SAD. Our research shows that use of therapeutic lamps, combined with new outdoor routines and programmatic encouragement to notice natural light really do make a difference to those with this form of depression.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Wintering Well library loan is also going to be exciting new addition to an existing SAD lamp scheme at Dublin. The guide and the CBT course will add value to what they currently have and Dublin is the first Library in Ireland to adopt the resources and start to make a difference for their communities who suffer from poor mental health in winter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Community link practitioner Erika Copland said: \u201cWithin our role, and in GP practices across Orkney, we encounter people affected by SAD: there are those of us who have family members ourselves who are affected.\u00a0Having seen the results of the research carried out alongside the pilot scheme in East Dunbartonshire, we feel that the Wintering Well boxes are going to be a valuable added resource for our community, allowing folk to experience a SAD lamp and other tools to enable them to cope better with the long, dark winter days.\u00a0Resources utilising Orkney\u2019s landscape and nature can enhance people\u2019s wellbeing, and having one specific to what can be a difficult time of year is welcomed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Living with SAD is also the inspiration for a new five-part radio series broadcast last week on BBC Radio 4. \u2018Winter Well\u2019 is presented by project team member Professor Hayden Lorimer of the University of Edinburgh, and is available now on BBC Sounds.<\/a><\/p>\n Professor Lorimer said: \u201cI hope the radio series will attract a diverse listening audience nationwide. We know that people of all ages, in all parts of the country, can find life a bit of a struggle as the long nights draw in. That shouldn\u2019t surprise us: after all, we\u2019re solar-powered creatures! So, it\u2019s wonderful that in Winter Well we can share the winter wisdoms of medics, scientists, writers, artists, poets, entrepreneurs, future-gazers, and everyday folk. If you\u2019re in search of inspiration about how to do the dark season differently then be sure to listen, like and download!\u201d<\/p>\n Vikki Kerr, Team Manager (Libraries & Archives) at Orkney Islands Council, said: \u201cOrkney Library Service is delighted to be rolling out the Wintering Well Boxes over the darker months. In Orkney, the winters are long and hard, and people on the mainland and on our outer islands often suffer with limited resources if they experience depression and mental health challenges. The Wintering Well scheme is a simple yet effective way to reach those people and give them the opportunity to change their experience of winter. It is not surprising that public libraries are effective hubs of health and well-being and in this case that can make a big difference to everyday life on Orkney.\u201d<\/p>\n Councillor Jim Gibbons, Chair of the East Dunbartonshire Leisure & Culture Trust, said: \u201cWe are delighted to be running our\u00a0Wintering Well\u00a0Box loan-scheme for a second year, helping our communities brighten the darker months. We are thrilled to be working in partnership with Orkney Library Services who are launching their first year with Wintering Well boxes. We\u2019re also excited that the\u00a0<\/strong>initiative, and our library staff and users, all feature in a new BBC radio series Winter Well.\u00a0I hope local people continue to make use of the loan scheme and others discover the mental health benefits the boxes can bring over the coming winter.\u201d<\/p>\n Ciara Dardis, Dublin Libraries\u2019 Healthy Ireland Representative, said: \u201cThe Wintering Well library loan is a fantastic addition to our existing static lamp scheme at Dublin. The guide and the CBT course will add value to what we currently have and we are excited to be the first library in Ireland to adopt the resources and start to make a difference for our communities who suffer from poor mental health in winter.\u201d<\/p>\n The distribution of Wintering Well Boxes via library services in the UK and Ireland is an initiative funded by a grant from UKRI\u2019s ESRC Impact Acceleration Account.<\/p>\n For more information on the project and team, visit https:\/\/www.gla.ac.uk\/research\/az\/livingwithsad\/winteringwell\/resources\/<\/a><\/p>\n For information on Winter Well<\/em>, visit https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/programmes\/m002krlm<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n