Project brings light to winter blues sufferers across the UK

A pioneering initiative which enables library-goers to borrow kits to help them tackle the effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) will be rolled out across the UK this winter.

Professor Hester Parr and Professor Hayden Lorimer with the light boxes available to borrow from UK libraries.
Professor Hester Parr and Professor Hayden Lorimer with the light boxes available to borrow from UK libraries.

From Sunday 25 October – when the clocks go back one hour – residents in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Island will be able to borrow a Wintering Well Box from their local library. 

Light therapy

And for the first time the City of Edinburgh Council’s Library Service is making the kits available to users from three community libraries in Wester Hailes, Morningside and Muirhouse. 

The boxes contain 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 and 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 SAD.

Successful collaboration

The kits were developed by researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, in consultation with people who experience symptoms of SAD during the shorter days of winter. 

More than a million people in the UK are estimated to live with SAD during the winter months as a result of reduced access to natural light, according to figures from the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Increased availability

A total of 16 public library services across Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland and will share 600 of the boxes this year. This expansion comes after the first loan scheme was introduced in public libraries in East Dunbartonshire in 2024. 

Since then, local people have checked out the kits more than 1,000 times, and this year more boxes have also been made available to library services in Glasgow and the Orkney Islands. 

UK launch

This year’s Wintering Well Boxes were officially launched at an event in Harrogate Library, one of the locations in North Yorkshire where a total of 150 kits will be available for loan, following an award from Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants programme.

The distribution of the boxes via library services in the UK and Ireland is funded by a grant from UKRI’s ESRC Impact Acceleration Account.

We’re thrilled that library services in all four nations have given their support to the Wintering Well project, which is a direct result of the impact we’ve been able to make with the help of Scottish public libraries over the last couple of years.

“This winter may be more challenging for many as we face additional uncertainty about how the country will be affected by what is forecast to be the strongest El Niño for a thousand years. Our Wintering Well boxes aim to help people deal with those negative emotions through creative exercises, as well as offering free access to an online course to help them develop more healthy habits and improve their mental wellbeing.

Professor Hayden Lorimer Chair of Human Geography, School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh.

Seasonal affective disorder can be debilitating for many people, who dread the annual effects of the shorter days and struggle to stay physically and mentally healthy through winter. 

“When we began work on the Living with SAD research project which led to the development of the Wintering Well Box, we wanted to explore whether SAD was an annual inevitability or whether change was possible. 

“With two years of real-world use and feedback from users now available, we can see that people can be helped to make changes that improve their winter wellbeing through the active, creative measures we’ve developed with input from people who live with SAD. Wintering Well Boxes have helped hundreds of people improve their mood, make healthy changes to their routines, and develop a brighter outlook on winter by adopting distinctive coping strategies. We’re excited to reach many more this time around.”

Professor Hester Parr School of Geographical & Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow.

I understand how challenging the winter months can be, with the long, dark nights and colder weather affecting our mood and wellbeing. 

“I’m delighted that we’re taking part in the Wintering Well Scheme, which will make a real difference to people’s everyday lives, particularly those who might be struggling.

Jane Meagher Leader, The City of Edinburgh Council.

Two years ago, I borrowed the Wintering Well box from the library, unsure what it really could achieve for my SAD, but prepared to give it a go. I was in for a pleasant surprise! The lamp is great, small enough to put next to my computer, ready to use every sunless morning. The booklet is full of good advice, and it’s comforting to know that I am not on my own dreading dark winter days.

Claire Charlwood One of the first people to borrow a Wintering Well Box from her local library in East Dunbartonshire.

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