Local Outcome 5: New project set to help library visitors checkout some winter sun
This winter (from October 2024), East Dunbartonshire residents will become the first in Scotland to be given the chance to take some extra sunlight home to help them deal with low winter moods.
An initiative, led by the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh and supported by the East Dunbartonshire Leisure and Culture Trust (EDLCT), means visitors to four local libraries can borrow a lamp which replicates the physiological benefits of real sunlight.
It is the latest development in an ongoing research project by the two universities into the mental and physical effects of long dark winters called Living with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).
One hundred lamps are available for library-users to borrow for four-week periods and residents can also pick up a pack containing information, activities and access to an online course to help them tackle the effects of SAD.
If the libraries project is judged a success, it may well be rolled out to communities across Scotland when the nights get longer next year.
The project follows on from previous efforts by EDLCT to provide library-goers with access to SAD lamps with visitors being able to sit with static lamps on library premises.
Craig Elliot-Wilson, Cultural Services Manager at East Dunbartonshire Leisure and Culture Trust, said, “We received very positive feedback from our library members who used the static SAD lamps in our libraries. Those who were prone to symptoms of SAD during the long winter months, found their mental health and wellbeing much improved as a result. So, we are delighted to be part of this initiative to provide our library users with the opportunity to benefit from a SAD lamp in the comfort of their own homes.”
Professor Hester Parr, of the School of Geographical & Earth Sciences, is one of the leaders of the Living with SAD project. She said, “According 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.
“Our Wintering Well resources are aimed at helping people find novel ways to deal with those feelings through creative projects and finding connection and support with others who struggle with low mood.
“We’ll be collecting feedback from participants in this new phase of the study to help us guide the next stage of Living with SAD, which could involve bringing lamps and resources to communities across Scotland.”
Professor Hayden Lorimer, of the University of Edinburgh, is co-investigator of Living with SAD. He said, “Local libraries are perfect places for people to access our borrowable Wintering Well boxes. They are also warm and welcoming public spaces for meeting up and socialising during the winter months. We’re planning to organise shorts walks nearby to library buildings when borrowers will be able to share their experiences with one another.”
The distribution of the lamps and the Wintering Well packs is being funded by a grant from UKRI’s ESRC Impact Acceleration Account. The book and free course resources are also being delivered to 80 NHS GP practices in Glasgow through the Community Link Worker system.