Monday, November 26, 2012
Keeping a Healthy and Happy Lifestyle this Winter
COMS 369 (Lec 03) Student # 10037881
Have
you experienced any of these symptoms within the past few weeks?
- Tiredness
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Crying Spells
- Irritability
- Trouble Concentrating
- Body Aches
- Poor Sleep
- Decreased Activity Level
- Overeating
It is common to places with long winter
seasons like Calgary. We all know that winter weather lasts for about six
months here in Calgary, so it means that we are more vulnerable to seasonal
affective disorder.
We all know that a simple kind of depression
can lead to serious cases, and for some. a cause of death. This is why we
should take some action to avoid this as early as possible. So what should we
do to avoid SADness? The best thing to do is to stay healthy and be physically active.
I know it is hard to be motivated to be active in this kind of weather because
personally I would prefer to stay in bed all day, covered with my warm blanket,
and surrounded with a pile of pillows…. and probably watch a ton of DVDs.
In this article, I will give different tips
on how to avoid seasonal affective disorder by staying happy and healthy. But
first, we should know more about SAD.
Who usually get SAD?
Basically any one can be SAD, but seasonal
affective disorder usually begins in teenage years or adulthood, and like other
depressions, women are more affected by it than men.
What causes SADness?
There are three main causes of seasonal
affective disorder. They are circadian rhythm, serotonin levels, and melatonin
levels. Now what do they mean?
- Circadian Rhythm is our body’s internal clock. The change in the time of sunrise and sunset disrupts our body clock. We experience less daylight in winter so we tend to feel that we should sleep more. I myself am a victim of this.
- Because the days are getting shorter, we are less exposed to sunlight. With less exposure to sunlight, our serotonin levels drop. Serotonin is a brain chemical that affects out mood. We are more likely to be depressed when our serotonin levels are lower.
- Last but not the least, we are more likely to be affected by seasonal affective disorder if our melatonin levels drop. Melatonin is a kind of hormone that regulates other hormones and maintains the body’s circadian rhythm, which is again our body’s internal clock. Because of the change in season, our melatonin levels are disrupted.
Now that we know what seasonal affective
disorder means and its causes, let’s find out the classic symptoms of seasonal
affective disorder. A person can feel tired, irritable, and depressed when he
or she has this disorder. They can also have trouble sleeping, body aches, and trouble
concentrating. If these symptoms get severe, with a feeling
of hopelessness and helplessness, you should consider seeing a health
professional such as your family doctor.
There are simple ways to fight seasonal
affective disorder before it even hits us. Here are few simple techniques to
help us be happy this season.
- Exercise. We all know that exercise is good for us. It helps us boost energy, improve our mood, and fight other diseases. It is more advisable to exercise outdoors, but in Calgary winter, staying outdoors for a long time is probably not a good idea. So I found some ways for us to exercise.
- Try indoor gyms. There are a lot of gyms around the city like Gold’s Gym, World Health, and the YMCA. We even have our own fitness centre inside the campus, so why not take advantage of that?
- If you don’t want to leave the confines of your home and you own a game console or a DVD player, why not try playing dance games like Just Dance or playing a work out DVD. Just make sure you actually do the steps.
- My personal favourite would be hot yoga. It is basically doing yoga in a really hot room with high humidity levels. Not only you will get the benefits of regular yoga like mind relaxation, improved breathing, and improved flexibility, but also you’ll actually get more! Hot yoga can help you detoxify and it helps ease our muscle pains due to coldness. There are different Hot Yoga Studios in Calgary like The Hot Yoga Lounge, Moksha Hot Yoga, Breathe Hot Yoga, and Hot Yoga on 17th.
- Eat healthy. I know we all tend to crave for junk foods at one point. But keeping ourselves healthy is truly beneficial in cold days because it can help us stay away from depression. We should eat more fish, whole grains, vegetables, and nuts. These foods will help us to be more alert and give our brains more energy.
- Socialize. There’s no better way to fight depression than socializing. We are now in a technical age so socializing can be easy as 1,2,3 with the help of our smart phones. Talk to your friends and family and ask them how they’re been. Besides, the holiday season is coming up so your friends and family will truly appreciate a short chat with you.
Now that we know a few simple steps to avoid
seasonal affective disorder, let us all help ourselves in creating a healthier
and happier lifestyle this season. Let us all help our friends and family who
could also be experiencing SAD. Let us all celebrate this season with a good
mood and a good health. Stay warm everyone!
If you want to learn more about SAD or
seasonal affective disorder and ways to fight it, please visit these websites:
- Seasonal depression (aka winter depression). (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2012, from http://www.ementalhealth.ca/Calgary-Health-Region/Seasonal-Depression-aka-Winter-Depression/index.php?m=article&ID=8870.
- Seasonal affective disorder. (February 11, 2012). Retrieved November 22, 2012, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002499/.
- What is seasonal affective disorder (SAD)? (n.d.) Retrieved November 23, 2012, from http://www.medicinenet.com/seasonal_affective_disorder_sad/article.htm.
- Heidi Smith Luedtke, Ph.D. (n.d.) How to beat winter blues. Retrieved November 22, 2012, from http://www.calgaryschild.com/health-and-safety/1191-how-to-beat-the-winter-blues.
- MACDADDY. (November 7, 2008) Seasonal affective disorder: 10 ways to fight it. Retrieved November 24, 2012, from http://getfitslowly.com/2008/11/07/seasonal-affective-disorder-10-ways-to-fight-it/.
- Mayo Clinic staff. (n.d) Seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Retrieved November 23, 2012, from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/seasonal-affective-disorder/DS00195/DSECTION=symptoms.
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