Each fall brings with it a number of things that are exclusive to the season including tailgating for baseball and football games, outdoor art festivals, colorful foliage and every pumpkin-flavored food and drink that you could imagine. On the flip side, this time of year also means toughing it out through shorter days and longer nights until we “fall back” on Nov. 2 for Daylight Savings Time. After that, there is still almost two months of long, dark nights until we reach the Winter Solstice on Dec. 21. For some this period of increased darkness is little more than a temporary inconvenience but for those who suffer from depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder, this time of year can create havoc on the internal body clock and can create symptoms that range from extreme fatigue, an inability to sleep or getting too much sleep, difficulty concentrating and weight loss or gain.

In order to compensate for a later sunrise and earlier sunset, it’s important to obtain as much natural light as possible in order to “reboot” the circadian rhythms of the body’s internal clock with a boost of bright light early in the morning. It’s typically necessary to also get more light exposure because the light is generally weaker at this time of the year.

At SeniorCare Homes we believe that natural light is important for our residents year-round but at this time of year it is especially critical because the natural light is key to keeping the symptoms of depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder at bay. This is why SeniorCare Homes included a beautiful all-year sunroom into the layout of the Nantucket, Hanover, Waveny Park, Newport and Vineyard Memory Homes. These rooms feature comfortable seating that invites lingering, beautiful hardwood floors, and long picture windows that frame and highlight the covered deck, gardens and landscaping at each Memory Home.

Each beautiful sunroom is a natural gathering spot for our residents to enjoy interactions with each other while they benefit from the expanse of natural light. Throughout the shortened days of fall and winter, caregivers encourage our residents to spend the early morning hours after breakfast mingling and socializing in the sunrooms. This allows our residents to take advantage of the early morning sunlight that can help influence the natural circadian rhythms and “coach” the body to respond to when it’s time to be alert and awake and when it’s time to sleep.

The sunrooms also allow our residents to stay in touch with the changing seasons year-round. During the fall, our residents gather in small groups to watch the leaves changing from green to red, yellow and orange, squirrels gathering nuts for the winter and in the early evenings the pink and purple sunsets. When winter arrives and it’s more difficult for residents to be able to safely get outside because of ice and snow, the sunroom becomes a place to safely observe the winter until the spring blooms arrive.

SeniorCare Homes in Overland Park and Leawood, Kansas, offer the most comfortable and stable assisted living environment to seniors with dementia, memory loss, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Phone (913) 236-0036 to learn more about neighborhood living for the memory impaired.