How to beat the Winter blues!

There are amazing things that happen during winter time! In some parts of the world we have winter rain that feeds and gives life to all the wonderful plants, flowers and animals that make our earth the beautiful place it is. Then there are the lovely warm fires, hot soups and snuggly times hibernating at home!

However, one of the less fortunate things about winter is that there is less sunshine. This sometimes results in a lack of essential vitamins and minerals required by humans and animals alike to survive the winter blues. What happens to a lot of us is an imbalance where our brains tend to produce more melatonin (sleep enhancing chemical) than serotonin and dopamine (feel good chemicals) resulting in the following:

• A tendency to want to cuddle up and sleep more and feeling more lethargic in general
• A craving for sugar that has been proven to be as addictive as cocaine!
• An increase in eating unhealthy carbohydrates that tend to make us put on excess weight 
• Less desire to exercise and socialize - resulting in us generally feeling a bit down in the dumps and depressed

If you are someone who is affected by the colder winter months, there are things that you can do to combat the winter blues naturally and help your body and mind get more prepared this time round.

1. Diet – Make sure that you eat a lot of organic fresh veggies and fruits like avocados. If you are vegetarian or don’t eat much meat, high quality proteins like Superfoods Spirulina make a perfect protein supplement. Try cooking with more healthy oils like Crede Organic Sesame, Peanut, Olive and Coconut oil.
2. Supplement your diet – Vitamin and Mineral supplements are essential for modern living as most of our foods, due to their highly processed nature, do not contain all the essential vitamins and minerals required to keep our bodies and minds healthy. Solgar Vitamin D, Solgar Megasorb Vitamin B-Complex and Solgar Omega 3-6-9 are great supplement additions to keep your mind and body functioning in general, but even more so during winter time. As Vitamin D is obtained from exposure to the sun, supplementation with Vitamin D is especially important in winter, particularly if you have a tendency to feel ‘down in the dumps’ in winter!
3. Meditation – Meditation is good to do all year round, but don’t slack off during winter time even though you might not feel like it. Meditation will help to keep your mind positive, focused and less stressed. If you can, increase your meditation time as depressed feelings might actually mean that your mind needs more care, love and attention!
4. Physical exercise – We often find ourselves putting off going for that brisk walk or gym session because it is too cold! Don’t allow yourself to get caught up in that kind of thinking. Exercise helps your brain produce more serotonin and dopamine – you need this right now! If you need a bit of an energy boost to enhance your work out, try a course of Solgar L-Carnitine.

Essential oils do wonders for uplifting mood and feelings of wellbeing. Be sure to have your personal favourite essential oils lingering in your home as often as you can in a ceramic burner or ultrasonic diffuser!

We hope we have helped you feel more motivated about dealing with the colder months of the year. Remember that all seasons have their place and winter time is as essential as the warmer months of spring and summer in order to keep our mother earth balanced and thriving! Let’s embrace it and stay happy and healthy all year round. For any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact us.