With all the discussion about depression, some people think that the only way to help them escape from stress and depression is through drugs. Prescription or otherwise, and this does not always work. In some cases, the supposed cure can be more harmful in the long run with common side effects include drowsiness, sleep difficulties, and nausea. There are natural ways to help a clinically depressed person, or even someone who is having a bad day. Vitamins and acids inside certain foods can help reduce stress and symptoms.

Omega-3 fatty acids lower blood pressure and can be used to treat stress and other blood pressure related issues. While not found in a large range of foods, a healthy diet should include some Omega-3 at least once a day to remain strong and alert. They are also very important to the growth and maintenance of brain cells, and can help with those at high risk of or who have cardiovascular disease in their family history. Food sources of Omega-3’s include flaxseed, walnuts, pecans, hazel nuts, kiwi fruit and some types of oily fish.

Light therapy, which can include ultraviolet as well as naturally occurring sunlight, is mostly used for seasonal depression or Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). According Mayo Clinic light therapy is most prominently used in the winter, light therapy is most useful during this time due to the winter temperatures making people less likely go outside in the sunlight and absorb the natural Vitamin D. This coupled with the general lack of sunlight, as well as less hours of sunlight available makes this a viable artificial alternative.

Although most light therapy is safe and effective, one should take precautions when deciding how to achieve optimum results. While excessive ultraviolet light can be harmful, a light box projects different spectrums of light, can help adjust melatonin levels, which acts as a sleep regulator and affects mood. A dawn simulator acts on a simple timer device that gradually increases light in a room. Dawn simulation was developed in the 1980s at Columbia University following a long line of basic laboratory research that showed animals’ circadian rhythms to be exquisitely sensitive to the dim, gradually rising dawn signal at the end of the night. This can convince a person’s brain that is still summer and can keep them on a normal sleep cycle.