DES MOINES, Iowa- As the days are getting darker, a Des Moines business is trying to lighten people’s moods by providing different therapies to limit the effects of seasonal depression.

About 5% of American adults suffer from seasonal affective disorder, also known as winter depression, and it typically lasts around 40% of the year, according to the American Psychiatric Association. One way to treat it is through different therapies, and some are provided in the metro.

Brandy Gilmartin opened Inner Space in 2019 after seeing a need for relaxation services. She was a hairdresser for 15 years and in her free time would travel to different retreats across the country. Puzzled by why there weren’t similar resources in Des Moines, she decided to create her own.

“People would sit in my chair, and any hairdresser… knows, that’s like therapy. And people are heavy, they’re carrying around a lot of things and I started to notice this trend that people aren’t taking care of themselves,” she said.

Gilmartin calls Inner Space a gym for the insides. A community of experts in mind, body, and energy combined ancient teachings and techniques with modern science and technology to create a Zen-like environment focused on personal growth and fulfilment.

“Oftentimes, people are going to gyms and working on their physical physic. In here, we work on emotions, emotional regulation, nervous system things, and it’s just a place where people can come and relax,” she said.

They offer different services like red light therapy, assisted lymphatic therapy, polychromatic light therapy, a sound lounge, zero body dry float, Des Moines’ only salt lounge, and more.

Three new therapies for the nervous system will be released later this week.

Gilmartin said her goal was to normalize self-care and to provide accessible options for people to try several different services and therapies in Des Moines to find what works best for them.