With the impending time change upon us and the days growing shorter and shorter, many people find themselves feeling a bit blue in the wintertime. Is there anything worse than leaving the house in the morning when it’s dark and returning in the evening in the dark? Memories of a carefree summer in the sunshine feel farther away than ever. If you find yourself in a wintertime funk and you feel blah, there a few ways to combat this. First of all, if you have a history of feeling sad in the wintertime, talk to your doctor about Seasonal Affect Disorder, aptly referred to as SAD. Once that is ruled out, you can begin trying the following tips.

Sun, Sun, Sun

With shorter days, getting access to the sun and that vital Vitamin D is more important than ever. Try sitting by a window during the day, taking a short walk during your lunch-break, or purchasing an artificial light lamp. You might find it surprising how quickly you perk up.

Make Plans & Get Moving

Though you might not feel energetic or social, the key here is to fake it until you make it. Force yourself to make plans with friends or family and stick to them. Staying busy will leave a lot less time for moping around the house in your pajamas for the second weekend straight. Taking a community yoga class with a friend can pull double duty, as you’ll have both human interaction and physical movement—both of which are known to lift the spirits. In fact, exercise is shown to cause a chemical reaction in our bodies and release endorphins. As Elle Woods in Legally Blonde so eloquently put it, “Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don’t kill people.” Sound advice—so get moving! If yoga isn’t your thing, walking, running, kickboxing, barre, or cycle classes are all great options. Not only will you feel more energetic but you’ll also feel good about yourself.

Get Dressed

When you’re feeling blue, it’s easy to let your appearance slide. This is a vicious cycle, though. When you aren’t taking care of yourself, you don’t feel good about yourself, so you don’t take care of yourself, and on and on it goes. Even if you have nothing on the calendar for the day, make it a goal to shower and get dressed each day, including styling your hair (even if it’s just in a cute and easy top knot) and applying a bit of makeup to add some color. Once you do the work of getting ready, you might find it’s much easier to accept social invitations and go out to do things. If you’re still not satisfied with your appearance, why not mix things up? Real hair extensions are an easy way to bring the “wow” factor without a lot of commitment. Coloring your hair, trying a new lip color, or treating yourself to an on trend clothing item are all great ways to put a little pep in your step when you’re feeling down.