We’re approaching the shortest day of the year. Has the lack of sunlight caught up with you yet? Feeling down, irritable or having a hard time getting out of bed? Here are some research-backed ways to survive the winter slump:
- Supplement with Vitamin D – our bodies make vitamin D from sunshine, but when our skin is covered and we’re hiding inside from the cold weather we can become vitamin D deficient. You also might not have stored up enough vitamin D from the summer sun if you’re a heavy sunscreen user. Try supplementing with the active form of vitamin D during the winter months.
- Put a little light in your life – buy yourself a light box. Sitting next to a light box for just 30 minutes per day can be as effective as a prescription anti-depressant.
- Bundle up and go for a walk outside. Walking for just a half hour per day can improve moderate depression symptoms.
- If waking up in the darkness isn’t fun for you, try using a dawn simulator. It’s a light that gradually brightens your room slowly before you wake up to make getting out of bed a little easier.
- Supplement with a high quality omega-3 fish oil to boost brain health. Almost half of Americans are deficient in omega-3’s which can contribute to anxiety, attention problems, depression and more.
- Get adjusted! Removing subluxations (vertebral misalignments) from your spine allows your brain and body to communicate better. Chiropractic adjustments can boost your mood, reduce aches and pains and help your whole body function better!
- Volunteer your time to help others. Tis the season for giving of yourself – what better way to celebrate the end of a great year and boost your own happiness than by helping someone else? Join our “Season of Giving” by donating food pantry items in our Meredith office or family shelter items for the Friends Program of Concord in our Pembroke office through December 19th.