Operation Prefrontal Cortex

The Greater Toronto Area's winter slump does not have to significantly dampen our mood.

When the days get shorter and the light drops off, it is normal for energy and motivation to follow, but we can build resilience nonetheless. 

One powerful tool is mindfulness meditation, which trains our attention and helps us observe thoughts and feelings without getting pulled down by them. 

We do not need hours; 5 to 20 minutes per day can start shifting how we relate to stress, anxiety, and low mood, during the winter months and otherwise. 

This is not just feel-good talk. A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis that combined 26 randomized controlled trials found that mindfulness meditation interventions produced a statistically significant reduction in depressive symptoms compared with control conditions, with a large overall effect size (Standardized Mean Difference ~ −1.14). 

In simple terms, that means there is solid evidence that regular practice truly moves the needle on depression scores.

Photographer: Avijit Singh.