If you or someone you know struggles during the winter months then you can borrow a free Wintering Well box.
Each box contains a therapeutic light lamp to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and a guidebook with tips on simple indoor and outdoor activities that can help support a healthy, new winter routine, as well as details about a free online course.
Seasonal Affective Disorder is a state that can be debilitating and limiting, resulting in emotional challenges, lowered mood, and feelings of anxiety in the autumn and winter months. Not everyone has a SAD diagnosis but there are many people who feel deeply affected by months of low light.
We have also put together a Wintering Well booklist of poetry, stories, and advice to help you improve your mental health over the season. Search for ‘wintering well’ in our library catalogue.
Wintering Well Hubs
We have static sad lamps in several of our libraries in comfortable settings to allow you to take advantage of the benefits of a plug-in therapy lamp within the library space. We invite you to sit by the light for up to 30 minutes with a book.
Our Wintering Well hubs are available at the following libraries during normal opening times:
- Bentham Community Library
- Eastfield (More Than Books) Community Library
- Great Ayton Discovery Centre
- Harrogate Library
- Knaresborough Library
- Malton Library
- Northallerton Library
- Pickering Library
- Richmond Community Library
- Ripon Library
- Scarborough Library
- Selby Library
- Sherburn and Villages Community Library
- Skipton Library
- Starbeck Community Library
This is a partnership project between North Yorkshire Libraries, and the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh and was made possible with funding from Arts Council England.
Find out more about keeping well and warm this winter.