7 Steps to eradicate the Winter Blues
The weather is changing and I have had numerous conversations recently both in and out of the gym around the individual struggles with energy, mood, and just basically feeling low and under the weather.
The – ‘- Cannot be arsed feeling -’ – you know it right!?
That, at this time of year, is completely normal and fully understandable.
We are not designed to be ‘up and at ‘em’ in the winter months, vitamin D levels are sinking, there are four months of cold dark mornings and gloomy weather ahead. It is a period in which we evolved to be moving toward reflection, chilling out, and winding down. Unfortunately, the fast paced modern culture in which we live does not really allow for it.
I fear also that this year in particular will be one in which we find ourselves challenged more than usual following our first ‘normal’ summer for 3 years… (what goes up must come down) Combine this with the craziness of the world and the information we are being fed when consuming mass media (in any form), it is no surprise that many people are not feeling tip top since the clocks changed.
It is sometimes comforting however to seek solace in the fact that you are not alone in this, and to know that the feelings you are experiencing at this time are shared by many people around you (even those you don’t suspect). In fact, November (and possibly February) are the two months of the year when these feelings are likely to be at their most prominent.
So it always makes good sense to think about planning for it…
To not just sit back and bemoan the circumstance, or get into a $h!† fight with reality, but examine personal responsibility and to look into what areas we can improve that will have a positive impact on how we feel throughout the winter period.
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Keep showing up
Don’t make it about goals and progress if you don’t have the energy, just keep showing up for your family, in the gym and for yourself, work hard to simply maintain discipline and consistency when others around you are giving up. Keep doing the things that you know will help build you up over time, and whilst you might not be firing on all cylinders do what you have to, to stay on top of everything so you don’t fall back.
Most people think progress happens when you are motivated, but REAL progress is found in the steps you make when you don’t want to, when the hurdles feel insurmountable, and the pull for giving up is stronger than that which pushes you to continue. It is in maintaining where you are when you would usually fall away, and doing what you said you would because you know your vision, because you deserve to be treated with respect, and your body deserves to be nourished.
By holding station and staying where you are for the next 3 months or so you enable yourself to get back on the track where you left off, rather than back where you started. Your ability to do this is one of the most powerful ways to ensure you progress towards your goals month after month, year after year.
TIP: Stick to your current exercise regime frequency, even if you treat the workouts like tick box exercise working out at 70-80% of your usual intensity
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Supplement Vitamin D
Throughout the winter months we do not get enough vitamin D (if any) – The combination of shorter days, colder weather, and time spent indoors leaves us with limited opportunity to build up our stocks while we continue to expend it at our usual rate, ensuring we quickly work through the supplies we have built up through the summer months. This is critical for most people as there are strong links between low vitamin D levels, mood, and energy.
The best way to counteract these effects is by supplementing our diet with vitamin D either combined with a multivitamin as with the Awesome Supplement product Defence or by itself as with the Daily D product by Aliment Nutrition.
TIP: Supplement 2,000 – 5000iu daily ideally in combination with vitamin K2 and magnesium
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Light Therapy
Even though vitamin D production is limited even when we spend time outside during the winter months there are still benefits to getting outside and being in natural light.
In summer months exposure is plentiful, but as the days grow shorter our opportunities to get outside reduce and we begin to spend most of our time bathed in artificial light which can disrupt circadian rhythms and lead to daytime sleepiness and inability to fall asleep when we go to bed. Exposure to natural light in winter conversely will balance our rhythms as well as promote timely production of hormones such as serotonin and melatonin, having a positive impact on both mood and sleep quality.
TIP: Utilise blue light lamps such as those produced by Lumie for 20 – 30 minutes in the morning; Take an opportunity between 1000 – 1400 daily to get outside for a walk; Dim the light in the evening prior to bed.
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Sleep
Sleep is at the heart of any improvements we wish to make and is the #1 thing we can work on to take steps to move our life forward – particularly in the winter months as we simply cannot get away with abusing our sleep patterns as much as we can throughout the summer.
Increased sleep can have a powerful influence on us and ensure we wake with greater energy, have a happier disposition and are impacted less by stressful circumstances which compound over time, enabling us to make improvements in so many areas of our lives – from training output to discipline with diets, work efficiency to better engagement in our relationships, and all you need to do is get to bed a little earlier.
Even if you start by going to bed just 10 – 15 minutes earlier than you usually do, taking the time to get to bed earlier progressively until you are consistently in bed, lights out, at least 8 hour prior to your alarm is set – up to 10 hours if you would class yourself as a ‘bad’ sleeper.
TIP: Have a consistent lights out and wake up time daily to improve sleep hygiene – making sure you go to bed at least 8 hours prior to intended wake time
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Get Aerobic
Training the aerobic system has a plethora of benefits to many systems in the body which in modern exercise culture are often lost with the push towards strength training, HIIT workouts, the drive for better times and longer distances, and the obsession with weight loss.
All too often, we work too intensely and push our aerobic training beyond aerobic thresholds into the anaerobic or lactic acid producing systems which make workouts harder than they have to be, while losing the benefits and relative ease of true aerobic training.
By staying in our aerobic training zones we will make it more likely we stay consistent and influence a number of systems in the body which will just make winter a little easier to stomach.
Endorphins – We have all heard about the impact of endorphins on our mood and what better time than winter to benefit from a little boost of endorphins through aerobic exercise to help us stave off those winter blues.
BDNF – As well as the euphoric impact of aerobic exercise it can also help make us more intelligent and stimulate improved brain chemistry through the production of BDNF. A protein prevalent in both neuroplasticity and neurogenesis in the brain, assisting in the growth of new cells and new connections.
Heart related benefits – Increasing the rate of blood flow around the body consistently for a prolonged period of time will help our HR lower over time and improve the health of the vascular system throughout the body. Thus ensuring we provide the body with the nutrients it needs and aid in the removal of waste products.
Breathing practice – There are three ways to ensure you are aerobic during exercise – HR %; Ability to maintain conversation; being able to nasal breathe for the duration of the exercise; and whilst the mechanisms and multiple benefits of nasal breathing are beyond the scope of this piece it will have a positive impact on both our stress levels and thought processes helping lift our mood through the tough winter months
TIP: Introduce at least one 20 – 30 minute steady state style cardiovascular exercise session per week.
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Connect with your friends
It is easy at this time of year to connect with less people than usual, getting stuck indoors and bemoaning the weather but it is precisely for this reason we need to make more effort to find time for connection. Not only will it get you out but it will lift your energy, your spirit and give you that feel good factor you are looking for.
Your friends are very likely to be feeling that winter pinch in the same way you are so reach out, check in on them and meet up. Just be careful to not let it become a pity party – use the time to lift each other up, keep each other accountable to making more positive decisions and staying on track with your goals.
TIP: Be the leader to those people around you need and use some of your energy to connect with and lift others if needed
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STOP consuming media
I do not mean disregard all media to the point of ignorance, but as humans we have a significant negativity bias to the information we absorb, and the news outlets know this! In fact, their news items are based on this.
When was the last time you came away from the news and felt all warm and cosy? When was the last time you even saw a heartwarming story on the news?
→ More negativity = more viewers = more £££
The more you watch, the more you will worry about what is going on in the world, the more you will suspect your fellow man, and the greater the distrust of strangers will grow in you. This is not great for our mental well being – especially when the greater truth is that we live in a beautiful world full of people doing amazing things – we just don’t see this on our tellybox news items.
If it is important enough to affect you, you will find out about it regardless of your media consumption, so you are not going to miss out on anything, you just save yourself the heartache of having it rammed down your throat hour after hour.
TIP: Switch the news articles all off your phone and reduce your total news consumption to know more than 15-20 minutes per day [Ideally reduce it down to 0]
Winter can be a tough time for many people and this one may even be one of the worst but do what you can, control the controllables, relax and above all go a little easier on yourself and remind yourself that you are doing better than you think, and probably better than you had expected following the last few years.
Your Prescription
→ Stick to your current exercise regime frequency, even if you treat the workouts like a tick box exercise working out at 70-80% of your usual intensity
→ Supplement 2,000 – 5000iu daily, ideally in combination with vitamin K2 and magnesium
→ Utilise blue light lamps such as those produced by Lumie for 20 – 30 minutes in the morning; Take an opportunity between 1000 – 1400 daily to get outside for a walk; Dim the lights in the evening prior to bed
→ Have consistent lights out and wake up time daily to improve sleep hygiene – making sure you go to bed at least 8 hours prior to intended wake time
→ Introduce at least one 20 – 30 minute steady state style cardiovascular exercise session per week.
→ Be the leader to those people around you need, and use some of your energy to connect with and lift others if needed.
→ Switch the news articles all off your phone and reduce your total news consumption to know more than 15-20 minutes per day [Ideally reduce it down to 0]