Posted on January 27, 2021 by Henry Ford Health Staff
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With longer days, colder temperatures and little sun exposure, it's natural to crave more time in bed. You may feel tired, groggy and sluggish all day long.
"We have less exposure to sunlight during the winter months, and that affects our internal clock," says Luisa Bazan, M.D., a sleep medicine specialist at Henry Ford Health. So it makes sense that many of us want to hibernate through December, January and February.
Several physiological factors converge to make people feel more wiped out during the winter. A few of the most common:
"It's important to understand that if we have a sleep loss because of anxiety that we're living through, that can produce more depression and mood disorders," Dr. Bazan says.Winter fatigue isn't inevitable. Here are five energy-boosting solutions that can help put a spring in your step even during the darkest months.
"Exercising first thing in the morning can help wake up your body and regulate your circadian rhythm," Dr. Bazan says. Just make sure to exercise several hours before you hit the sack. Exercise too close to bedtime, and you may have trouble sleeping.If you're getting sufficient sleep and exposing yourself to sunlight during the day but still feel like you don't have enough energy, talk to your healthcare provider.
While it's normal to slow down during the winter months, certain medical conditions can be a cause for your exhaustion.
"Wintertime fatigue could be a sign of seasonal affective disorder or vitamin D deficiency," Dr. Bazan says. "Or it could be a symptom of a chronic health condition, such as hypertension, weight gain, sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome."
To find a doctor or sleep specialist at Henry Ford, visit henryford.com or call 1-800-HENRYFORD (436-7936).
Dr. Luisa Bazan is a sleep medicine specialist who sees patients at Henry Ford Medical Center - New Center One in Detroit.
Categories : FeelWell
Tags : Sleep, sleep medicine, Luisa Bazan
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The sky is grey, and the chill wind blows outside.
Right now, the best thing in the world would be curling up in a blanket with a cup of something hot to drink and a good book or movie, right? Sure, there are dishes to do, and an elliptical machine to hop on, but you just don’t have the drive.
Welcome to winter fatigue, also known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD). According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, approximately 500,000 Americans suffer from full-blown SAD, while another 10-20% of people experience a milder form. Common symptoms of SAD include:
What can you do to beat the Winter Blues? While some doctors include light therapy, medication, and psychotherapy, here are five ways to help treat winter fatigue in a more natural manner.
During the winter months, most of the Northern Hemisphere gets less sunlight, causing drops in Vitamin D levels in humans.
This can lead to depression. To combat those wintertime blues, get as much sunlight…and, consequently, Vitamin D…as possible.
If your doctor finds your Vitamin D levels are too low, he or she may recommend that you take a supplement. Your doctor can also help you find the right brand and dosage to take. Ultimately, though, Vitamin D is best consumed through fatty fish (mackerel, salmon, sardines, etc.), meat, mushrooms, and eggs, as well as good old fashioned sunshine.
Open your curtains and blinds early in the day to let in as much sunlight as possible. Also, take a few minutes to walk around outside to let the sun help your body naturally produce Vitamin D. Which takes us to point number two…
Since you’re walking outside to catch some rays, you’re already accomplishing this step. Martha Howard, MD, medical director of Wellness Associates of Chicago, recommends getting 30 minutes of exercise four to six times a week.
Whether it’s walking on the treadmill, taking a couple of laps around the block, or walking around your office building…exercise keeps endorphins pumping in your body, helping keep you energized to combat the winter blahs.
Comfort foods like mashed potatoes, thick stews, macaroni and cheese, etc. sound great when the weather is chilly and the days are short. Our bodies crave more sweets and carbohydrates to help us build that insular layer of fat that kept us alive back in our caveman days.
Doctors today, however, recommend getting a more balanced diet with higher amounts of lean proteins, such as poultry, fish, and lean red meats, as well as eggs, beans, and complex carbohydrates in the form of whole grains. Balanced eating gives you more energy to fight the cold, and a well-rounded diet keeps the cravings at bay. And remember the vegetables and fruits. It’s always good to keep those in the diet.
Anyone who has driven on snow and ice-covered roads can attest to the fact that winter is stressful! A trip to work and back can be dangerous at best some days. Add to that the shorter hours and less exposure to sunlight, and everyone begins to feel the pressure building.
But along with emotional and mental stress comes physical stress. Fighting off the cold (and slip-sliding on ice) can put heavy pressure on the body. The body works harder in winter to maintain temperature control (and balance) while trying to work through the day. What to do?
Yes, you got it. Relax!
Find hobbies and activities that help relieve stress. Meditation can be a great time to let the mind relax and unwind (a new form of meditation involves coloring in adult coloring books), while yoga can chill the mind while working out the body. Talk about a win-win!
A final way to fight winter fatigue and SAD is to visit your chiropractor. He or she can help you create a nutrition plan that helps you eat a balanced diet and set up a series of stretches and exercises that help you reach that 30-minute goal. Regular adjustments help realign your spine and wake up your nervous system, turning on your power so you can fight the winter blues.
Ready to turn on your power and combat winter fatigue? Contact Pure Family Chiropractic in Brookfield, New Berlin, or Williams Bay today to schedule an adjustment.
Do you feel that your energy is at zero? Welcome to the club! Fatigue is one of the most common reasons women go to the doctor in developed countries. If you do not pay attention to the body's cries for help and do nothing to change your condition, you can become seriously ill. Fortunately, energy is not a constant, its amount is individual and depends on daily, monthly, seasonal rhythms, experts explain. And if you constantly feel tired, you can start with small changes that will give you a quick “recharge”.
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Emotional burnout
Fighting Fatigue
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Being a reasonable and responsible adult is not easy.
All these obligations, affairs, household and family issues sometimes get bored, and the body takes this boredom for fatigue. The desire to be an efficient and productive person 24 hours a day, 7 days a week may be commendable, but it often leads to physical and emotional burnout.
Solution: Plan a vacation
At first, you may not be able to relax just like that, so make a list of fun small things: write a joking letter, call an old friend, play twister with your children, listen to your favorite music in silence. .. Such small breaks will make the daily routine less boring.
If there is not enough natural light outside, the body tries to go into sleep mode. As a result of a study involving more than 600 adults, scientists from the University of Massachusetts found that depression, feelings of loneliness, anger, and disorder appear more often in winter.
Solution: more light!
Walk at least 10 minutes outside during the day or when you feel most tired. Sunlight will help you wake up and perk up. Even if the weather is cloudy, there is still more light outside than in the office. If you can't get out of the room, a short stay in a room with natural light will help.
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When you breathe unevenly, your lungs don't get enough oxygen, and there's a lot of carbon dioxide in your blood. This also leads to a feeling of fatigue, as well as an increase in pressure and pulse.
Solution: diaphragmatic breathing
A few short sessions a day and you will feel much better. Put your hand on the navel, while inhaling, focus on making the stomach “breathe” too, then you will get more oxygen.
Sitting in the same position for several hours consumes a lot of energy, the body begins to think that soon it will be possible to go to bed. And if you also look at the screen, you start blinking more slowly, and your eyes dry up (and tend to close completely).
Solution: move more
Stretch. Take a walk. Take a shower or wash your hands. Frequent breaks will help the body not to relax too much. Take your eyes off the screen every half hour and focus on a distant object or object.
The body has its own biological clock. And if you get up early on weekdays and sleep until noon on weekends, then you arrange a hard jetlag for yourself without leaving your home. And in the end, you don’t feel too good, even if you seem to have slept enough in time.
Solution: normal schedule
Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
If you really want to sleep, it is better to go to bed earlier than to get up later.
Many people put themselves under unnecessary stress without realizing it. Thirst symbolizes the loss of 2-3 percent of the fluid, and even such a slight dehydration can create a feeling of fatigue and drowsiness: the blood pressure level decreases, as a result, the blood supply to the brain deteriorates and the heart has to work at increased speeds.
Solution: drink more
Keep a bottle of water nearby, drink your food. If you don't like water, add orange slices or herbal infusion to it. Soups, fresh fruits and vegetables also help increase the water level in the body.
They confuse the body, it does not understand when it is really necessary to sleep. Bright lights interfere with the production of melatonin.
Solution: low light
Install dimmable switches and lower the light level in the evening. A good option is a table lamp instead of a ceiling light.
It can be expanded to a bad diet in principle. If you don't have breakfast, your metabolism slows down to conserve energy and you feel tired. If you just don’t feel like breakfast, think about whether you overate in the evening.
The solution: a good breakfast
The combination of proteins and carbohydrates will give you energy for a long time. You can literally eat anything, from a sandwich to porridge. Carbohydrates will help you feel more alert, and proteins will prolong this effect.
Woke up, but as if you had not slept? If you wake up tired and even broken in the morning, you need to fix it urgently.
We have collected 9 working tips that will help you become alert again and wake up full of energy.
Sports are the last thing you want to do when you feel tired. But research shows that the more physical activity you have, the more energy you have.
Even short workouts will make you more alert and self-confident. And they will improve the work of the heart, lungs and muscles - and improve well-being.
Devices from the pharmacy will help track the state of the body before and after training:
Any exercise is useful in the fight against fatigue, but yoga is especially useful.
There are also several studies on this subject - for example, scientists in the UK conducted an experiment: they gathered a group of volunteers, forced them to do yoga once a week (only once!). Six weeks later, they were interviewed: everyone noted that their thoughts became clearer, and their energy and self-confidence increased.
Dehydration robs you of energy and reduces your physical performance - if you don't have enough water in your body, you will get tired even with the simplest housework. Dehydration also reduces alertness and concentration.
You can tell if you are drinking enough water by the color of your urine: if it is dark, you need to drink more.
Important: you need to drink exactly water, not juices, compotes or dairy products - the body perceives everything except water as food, and this does not save you from dehydration.
You can also buy water in pharmacies:
The logic is simple: you get better sleep, you get less tired. Try to go to bed before midnight and put your gadgets away at least an hour before bedtime - so their bright light does not interfere with the production of melatonin, and you can fall asleep quickly.
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Fluctuations in blood sugar affect how awake you are throughout the day - the more fluctuations, the more tired you are.
To stabilize your sugar levels, you need to increase the number of meals and reduce the amount of servings.
How it works. Sugar is found in almost every product. If we eat a hearty lunch, a lot of sugar enters the body at a time, its concentration rises sharply, and the body absorbs it for a long time. Dividing a heavy meal into at least two small meals will reduce your blood sugar spike and keep you awake for longer.
Supplement your diet with vitamins for energy:
Fish contains healthy omega-3 fatty acids. They improve metabolism and increase alertness - and this helps to stay alert and alert throughout the day.
If you don't have enough fish in your diet, supplement your diet with supplements:
Of course, it's not the weight itself that needs to be reduced, but the percentage of body fat - it's just that most often one is inseparable from the other.
Scientists from Johns Hopkins University have proven that even a small reduction in body fat improves mood and makes a person more alert.
To start losing weight, experts advise reducing portion sizes, eating a balanced diet, and exercising (or at least walking more often). If you work remotely and are afraid that you won’t be able to lose weight due to sedentary work at home, read this material - in it we told you how to start losing weight even remotely.
Help in losing weight can be found in pharmacies:
Are you an owl or a lark? The answer to this question will help you not to suffer from fatigue during the day. If you are a morning person and feel energized in the morning, plan all the important things for the first half of the day. If an owl - at the end of the day.
This biological clock, or circadian rhythm, is determined by genetics and brain structure, so changing it can be very difficult.
