Mindful Mondays "Sunny Days, Chasing the Clouds Away"

It's that time of year again! No, NOT CHRISTMAS. Bah Humbug. That is a whole different rant. I mean Blog. But back to our topic. It's fall. Less daylight. We get up - it's dark. We drive home- it's dark. The sun, well, doesn't come out much. General forecast is overcast, rainy, windy..and soon to be snow and other fun weather hazards. The sun, and it's warmth are at a premium.

So is my mood. How about yours? If you are like the estimated 3% of Ontarian, you may be suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. Another 15% of us have a less severe experience described as the winter blues.
SAD can be a debilitating condition, preventing sufferers from functioning normally. It may affect their personal and professional lives, and seriously limit their potential.
This excerpt, from the CMHA Website, explains what causes SAD,and to a lesser extent - the winter blues:

Research into the causes of SAD is ongoing. As yet, there is no confirmed cause. However, SAD is thought to be related to seasonal variations in light A “biological internal clock” in the brain regulates our circadian (daily) rhythms. This biological clock responds to changes in season, partly because of the differences in the length of the day. For many thousands of years, the cycle of human life revolved around the daily cycle of light and dark. We were alert when the sun shone; we slept when our world was in darkness. The relatively recent introduction of electricity has relieved us of the need to be active mostly in the daylight hours. But our biological clocks may still be telling our bodies to sleep as the days shorten. This puts us out of step with our daily schedules, which no longer change according to the seasons. Other research shows that neurotransmitters, chemical messengers in the brain that help regulate sleep, mood, and appetite, may be disturbed in SAD.

Symptoms of being affected by this are many and varied:
•change in appetite, in particular a craving for sweet or starchy foods
•weight gain
•decreased energy
•fatigue
•tendency to oversleep
•difficulty concentrating
•irritability
•avoidance of social situations
•feelings of anxiety and despair
These are very similar to depression, and other physical ailments such as low thyroid, making it hard to diagnose those with SAD or winter blues.
If you find your life affected in a negative way by the symptoms above, or felling suicidal in fall/winter, please seek help through your family doctor. There are many effective ways to succesfully treat this disorder.

If you have/or want to prevent the winter blues, like I do, then follow some of my favourite tips. These help to keep me up and running when SAD starts to get me down:

a) Arrange your day for maximum enjoyment of the daylight. Plan/schedule in outdoor time, or time near a window with natural light. eg/get up early and go for a walk/run as day breaks before work. Or plan a walk/run at lunch hour. Trim the trees/bushes around your windows to let max sunlight in.
b) Monitor your nutrition: Eat Real Food. Mostly Plants. Not Too Much (Michael Pollan)

c) Monitor your sleep: Try to sleep when it is dark, and not allow yourself to give in to the desire to sleep often. Exercise instead, or immerse yourself in something else to keep your rhythms on a normal flow.
d) Exercise. You know how I feel about this. Best mood lifter ever.
e)Gratitude: Right alongside exercise, counting your blessings and realising how much you have to be greatful for is an instant barrier to keep the darkness out.

“In the depths of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer”Albert Camus

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