Are you trudging through winter just waiting for Spring? Me too! This year seemed particularly harsh on the body and the mood. I know that my mood suffered a bit. I felt blah, crabby, irritable especially throughout February. Spring time is a great time to not only do some house cleaning, put the winter gear away and dream about summer but also it’s a great time to do a little brain sweeping as well!
When we think of spring cleaning, our brain doesn’t often come to mind. See, we have been trudging through winter like good sports for months. We are just about at our breaking points when spring arrives! New hope…new beginnings! But…for many new mood doesn’t happen quite as readily.
If we think of our brain and body like a rechargeable battery things come into focus. I live in Wisconsin where we crave the sunlight and soak as much in as we can during the summer. We are hopeful our battery remains charged up all winter long and right into the following summer. Unfortunately it doesn’t really happen like that at all.
What tends to happen is we run out of charge just after the new year. Then February comes along and we are more irritable than ever! We might get angry easier, have trouble sleeping and perhaps experience more aches and pains. If any of this sound familiar it might be an imbalance of serotonin. See, serotonin and sunlight are closely related. A new study shows that the brain produces more of the mood-lifting chemical serotonin on sunny days than on darker days. Researchers say the findings provide more evidence that lack of sunlight and reduced serotonin levels are important in the development of seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
Though we look forward to setting our clocks ahead the impact of less and less sunlight as well as colder weather, the inability to exercise and the lack of really delicious tasting fresh foods takes a major toll.
What can we do about it? There are many options to help you get out of the winter slump and spring into sunshine and good weather. There is daylight longer which is a great thing…but it isn’t quite long enough. Go get yourself a SAD lamp. Sit in front of it every morning for about 15 minutes to recharge your battery. Then…as much as possible head outdoors to start taking walks as frequently as possible.
Brain health is where it’s at. Begin to look at your diet and turn to whole foods and healthy fats. These will help provide your brain (neurotransmitters) with the nutrient cofactors needed to help you feel better. Some nutrients to think about are Vitamin D, Magnesium, Omega 3’s, Activated/methylated B Vitamins and Vitamin C. If you are still feeling lethargic, irritable, trouble sleeping you might consider getting your neurotransmitter level checks. A simple lab will allow you to know what amino acids might need a boost to high tail it into summer! A lab test can let you know if your serotonin, GABA, Glutamate, Dopamine are balanced. If they aren’t you might be experiencing anxiety and depression. With some simple amino acid supplementation you will be on your way to improved mental health as we forge into summer
Finally, concentrating on building a positive thought pattern will help you release the negativity that the long winter has brought to you. Think about keeping a gratitude journal. You can even make that more specific with keeping a courage journal or a joy journal. Get creative! One final thought is the use of essential oils. Essential oils impact your limbic system (emotional center) of your brain. Your citrus oils can provide you with a boost of energy or a shot of happy almost immediately. My personal favorite is wild orange!
One final thought….don’t wait until springtime to do something fun. Go ahead and get out there and experience joy!
So if you are looking to spring clean your brain, start with fueling it up! You’ll be glad that you did!