With fewer daylight hours, fall can lead to lower energy, sadness or even depression. Not only are we usually less active, the lack of sunlight means we get less ultraviolet light on our skin, causing our serotonin (the “feel good” chemical) levels to drop.
It’s easy to stay bundled up on the couch from now until spring, but if you want to beat the fall and winter blues…
1. Get Sunlight Every Day
When you’re cooped up indoors during colder months, you’re not getting enough direct sunlight exposure. Even if it’s cold, bundle up and try to get into the sun every day. With shorter days in the winter, this might mean taking a few minutes of your lunch break to walk outside. You should also use the weekends to exercise or play in the sunlight.
2. Socialize
While it’s tempting to hibernate in the colder months, socializing with others is good for your mental health. Now is the time to join a group or take a class, whether it’s group therapy, an art class, a volunteer organization, etc.
3. Breathe!
You knew this one was coming. It’s simple. It’s free. We do it constantly, but we hardly notice. Psychological research increasingly shows that, when we do notice, it can impact our mood.
The inhale energizes, opens, expands, and lifts our mood. The exhale deflates the lungs, empties us out, grounds us and relaxes the parasympathetic nervous system.
Next time you’re needing a mood booster – just stop everything. Then sit down, close your eyes, and do nothing else but breathe. Try to tune out the world and focus on breathing in and out, deeply and slowly into the diaphragm. After ten deep breaths, do some real reps, if you feel like it…. or do ten more deep breaths. I think you will find that your mood improves with each breath and you will discover renewed inner strength. Repeat as needed.
Deep breathing should be a part of our everyday life. It not only can lengthen the years that we get to live, but can make us happier, more productive and energetic. It floods your brain with feel-good hormones and helps ease stress and anxiety.
Give yourself a quick mood booster while driving in the car, cooking dinner, taking a shower, or any other time throughout the day with a few reps of Oxycise!
Gillian shared:
”Prior to starting Oxycise! I was struggling along with an extra 20 lbs and feeling quite ‘flat’ after surgery (hysterectomy) two years earlier. That’s just a dim memory now and the last year has shown me how to take control not only of my weight and energy level but also my feelings of well-being.
“Immediately after I started Oxycise! I got my joy for living back. No more down days. And to be able to lose weight so easily too….Incredible. I’ve shared my ‘secret’ with all my friends and colleagues and many of them have begun the program too. Now if only I could get my husband going too – he’s seen the results with me and he has digestive problems and extra weight around his middle that I KNOW Oxycise! would resolve……
“Thank you doesn’t begin to express my gratitude…”
– Gillian
