Although never fully predictable, most brits will agree that the weather is turning, the seasons are changing, & winter is hiding around the corner, just a few weeks away. With this comes a series of mental health phenomena with the ability to make the colder seasons feel more naughty than nice. These are medical called SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), however for most of us we experience the slightly lighter version named 'Winter Blues'. But how do you beat it...
Winter blues is most commonly defined as a change in the body’s circadian rhythm (body clock), leading to greater production of depressive hormones & an overall lower mood. When this low mood reaches the point of depression, we can consider it SAD & clinically intervene. In English, you might experience the following over the winter months:
Feeling more tired & less motivated
Really struggling to perk up in the mornings (consistently, not just because of the 4 San Miguel's)
Craving more carbohydrates & sugars (anything binge-worthy really)
Slowed thinking or concentration (including restlessness)
Recognise some of these? Then give you some proven tactics to counter them shall we!
Get plenty of daily fresh air & sunlight. A short walk outside at least twice daily is probably the most powerful of all the tactics to eradicate your winter blues.
Supplement vitamin D. It's well known as the sunlight vitamin, so with less sunlight hours every day, you could do with getting those nutrients from elsewhere. Drinking lots of water will also help you with vitamin absorption (& the rest).
Get sociable! Make plans with family & friends to ensure you don't end up worsening your winter blues. Stick to these plans & you'll benefit from all the positive mental effects of interacting with other people we love, many coming from simply having a good laugh. Laughter is the best medicine, but meditation in between times is a good bet too.
Make an effort with nutrition. Give yourself a minimum set of daily tick boxes in your mind for what you put in the tank to ensure you don't end up missing out on your fruit, veg & protein due to the changing seasons. It's all too easy to reach for the Celebrations, so allow yourself a few, but only after you've ticked your fruit & veg off the daily list.
Take your fitness up a level. Use the chance where morning walks, evening bike rides & Saturday golf is less achievable, due to weather & daylight. You can (should) get lifting some weights a couple of times per week & try to also gain an hour of high intensity cardio (running, cycling, swimming, sports etc.) each week.
Reach out. Whether it's friends, family, therapists, your GP or a charity (https://www.thecalmzone.net). Reaching out before it's too late in a relaxed environment is always the key. Don't know where to start? Why not come for a gym session with us & bring up the weather, we're always free to talk.
If you need deeper guidance with this, we recommend the following podcast:
In the meantime, you can find more articles below to broaden your fitness, nutrition & wellbeing knowledge!
Elliot Hutchinson // 22.09.2024
© 2024 The Coaching Collective
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