Defeat those Winter Blues Naturally!

The winter blues are not that uncommon for many people. Here are 3 tips to help manage those sad feelings naturally.

1. Exercise! Exercise is known to improve mood. Try a variety of exercise to keep yourself interested and prevent boredom. Winter is a great opportunity to try new activities both outdoors and indoors. It doesn’t need to be intense or long - 30 minutes a day if you can - but it will promote mental alertness, happiness and help fight those winter blues. A few different ideas for exercise - walking, snowshoeing, skiing, skating, yoga, cycling, zumba, thai chi and more. Try something different - and if you don’t know where to begin YouTube has some great options for learning new exercises!
2. Get light on your face! Full spectrum light is essential to our body and is involved in helping our body make hormones for mood and sleep and immune health. One way to get full spectrum light is to get outside during daylight hours. The sun is an essential part of regulating mood. Being outside and having direct sunlight on your face is important especially during winter months. If you can avoid wearing sunglasses and SPF that would be best as blocking the sun’s rays will only decrease the efficacy of natural sunlight on the body. Another option is to consider using a light lamp. You can read more about light therapy here.
3. Try a few different natural supplements to support your mood.
4. Vitamin D deficiency has long been associated with low mood and decreased immune function. Vitamin D is made by your body when your skin is exposed to sunlight. The decrease in sunlight in winter months means your body is not making enough Vitamin D and so many people are depleted in this hormone. Very few foods contain Vitamin D so supplementation in winter months is often essential. When picking a Vitamin D supplement consider a blend of D3 with Vitamin K.
5. Melatonin is a hormone that is secreted by the pineal gland and is part of managing your body’s circadian rhythms. With the decreased exposure to sunlight in the winter your body sometimes can use a little extra support to keep your circadian rhythms on track.
6. Vitamin B6 is essential for nervous system function and helps boost serotonin and GABA, hormones that prevent depression, sadness and anxiety.
7. Omega 3 Fish Oils have been shown to help improve mood and decrease depression.
8. Homeopathic Medicines are something that can be considered to help manage depression during winter months. Booking a visit with a professional to choose the most effective one (because there are more than just these four) can be helpful.
9. AURUM MET: Melancholy, with inquietude and desire to die. Irresistible impulse to weep. Imagines he has lost the affection of his friends; this makes him weep. Sees obstacles everywhere. Hopeless. Sad, feels that all is against him and life is not desirable, and the thought of death alone gives pleasure. When melancholic the patient loses every interest in life. Everything seems to him futile meaningless, sad. He wants to end his life. He feels that he is to blame for everything, that he has made mistakes, that he has neglected his duties, that his friends have lost their trust in him. He feels deep despair and wishes to give an end to his life. Great anguish, which even induces a disposition to suicide. Excessive anxiety of conscience. Despair of oneself, and of others. The least contradiction excites his wrath. Alternate peevishness and cheerfulness.
10. PHOSPHORUS: has a really close relationship with the weather, loving the sun and sparkling with it - actually feeling invigorated by being out in the sunshine. They are deeply affected by cloudy weather - becoming miserable and gloomy the longer the sun stays away. In the deepest, darkest time of the winter they can slow right down, not wanting to do anything. Chocolate is their great source of comfort at those times - as are their friends. Even brief outbursts of sunshine on a winter's day will lift their spirits, as can getting out with friends and going to a party or going dancing!
11. AMMONIUM CARBONICUM : is for chilly individuals who are very much affected by the dull, cloudy weather of winter - they become apathetic and unmotivated, not wanting to work or do anything. They eat themselves silly - craving lots of sweet things (especially candies which give them toothache) - and they put on lots of weight. Ill-humour in the morning, and when it is bad weather. Great absence of mind and weakness of memory.─Tendency to make mistakes in speaking, in writing, or in calculating.─Impairment of the intellectual faculties.
12. RHUS TOX : This remedy is useful for those who are particularly sensitive to cloudy weather, and find that the cold, damp, wet, and cloudy weather makes them feel just plain miserable. Their body reacts by stiffening up-especially the back and the joints-which makes them feel even worse. Getting up after sitting or lying down for a while is difficult and continued movement eases the stiffness. Unfortunately those joints start to hurt again after being used for a while so the person has to rest-after which the whole cycle starts again causing the restlessness that is a keynote for this remedy.

**Remember with supplementation it is encouraged to speak to a health professional who can help determine if these supplements will be beneficial to you and help with dosing.**

In Health,

Rachel