Warding off the Winter Blues
We’ve had the festivities and now it’s a sparkling New Year! Or is it? With Monday blues looming in January, up to 2 million people in the UK will annually be suffering from susceptible season disorder (SAD).
Brainworks Neurotherapy (Brainworksneurotherapy.com) brain health experts, have come up with simple and effective strategies to overcome the much-dreaded post-Christmas blues. These pointers encompass a holistic approach which addresses mood, sleep, physical health and lifestyle factors;
Strategic sunlight exposure
Staying outdoors for 10–15 minutes a day before midday, and during sunset (while facing west) helps regulate pivotal hormones for mood and sleep pattern, and overall wellbeing. During these times, the light enters your eyes and directly affects both the production and regulation of your hormones, such as serotonin, melatonin and cortisol. Despite appearances, light does penetrate through the all-too familiar wintery UK cloudy skies.
Grounding
A 20-minute daily grounding or earthing of your body, allows you to absorb earth’s electrical charge and ground energy. You can do this by exposing your skin (or simply your naked feet) to any of earth’s natural surfaces such as by touching grass, sand, mud, trees, or even your dog while it’s on a natural surface.
You can also ground yourself by wearing special grounded shoes with conductive material such as silver and carbon on the outer and inner soles.
Bedtime
Our bodies respond well to daily routines and having the same bedtime every night is one of the most effective anti-stress habits we can practice. Sleeping at the same time every night keeps our internal clock finely tuned, helps regulate our circadian rhythms and stabilises the production of essential hormones for mood, such as melatonin and cortisol.
Simply set your timer to the same time every night, whereby you put your phone aside, switch off the lights, and close your eyes.
Social connections
Nurturing social connections during those cold and rainy wintery days may seem daunting, but it’s another crucial element to winter health. Being a part of a community, making the effort to mix and mingle, provides emotional support and has plethora of mood enhancing benefits.
Brainworks advises that more serious cases of SAD should visit their healthcare provider, and may be helped with cognitive-behavioral therapy, antidepressants or a combination.