5 Steps to Make Spring a Time for Mental Renewal
The effects of the pandemic we’ve been dealing with along with dreary winter weather has led some people to the blues and depression. Depression makes it harder to stick to our healthy eating plan which in turn makes it more difficult to keep our blood sugar and insulin steady. Many people have found themselves feeling unmotivated, low on energy, and are realizing they are recognizing more feelings of sadness than usual. If you would like to feel more energetic and a little happier, read on.
Spring has always been a time of renewal. The days become longer which means more daylight. The grass begins to become green again, the flowers and trees bloom, and many animals birth their young. Spring is visible! There are many ways we can help with a renewal of our minds and spirits. Most of us need to consciously take steps to facilitate that renewal! By the end of February up in the north woods most of us were going stir crazy so I suspect many of you can relate. I cannot tell you how overjoyed I was when I could take my tennis shoes out of storage and start taking the dog for walks again without the fear of slipping on ice and freezing my face off. For many people seasonal affective disorder (SAD) can be debilitating.
There are five steps known to increase our feelings of well-being and get us on the right track to improve our minds and thereby our happiness and productivity.
The five steps to target include:
· Vitamin N (N=Nature)
· Exercise
· Lower carbs in diet
· Gratitude journal
· Find your passion
Going outside is imperative to our mental health. Indoor air can become toxic from off gassing of current furniture, carpets, paints, cleaning supplies, etc. We can lessen this toxicity by using non-toxic cleaning aids and by having an abundance of plants in our houses. It is still important to go outside especially in the morning to get the morning light into your eyes and onto your skin. This outdoor time will help with deeper sleep and deeper breathing to get more health-giving oxygen into your system and to your brain! If you can go somewhere with greenery visible that will add even more benefit to your time outside. That green can be grass, trees, or other plants.
The benefits of exercise toward improved mental health are well documented. The exercise when done outside gives the benefits of the out-of-doors as well as the exercise! Which exercise is best? The exercise you will do is the one for you. A good brisk walk is great exercise--great for the body and the mind! Exercise is imperative to keep your blood sugar steady. Exercise can be a walk, resistance training, yoga, tennis, soccer, or just romping with the kids or grandkids! Strive for 30 minutes a day. And most especially, set a strict goal for yourself that you will not miss two days in a row!
Lowering carbs in your diet, especially refined carbs, will benefit your brain and make
everything brighter. Making sure that you get healthy fats (avocados, olive oil, coconut oil, wild caught fish) will benefit your brain function and has been to help reduce depression.
Each day it is important to write down something to be grateful for--preferably three things. Only one thing the first few days will be enough to get you started. Writing down a gratitude list is important and gets easier with time!
Finding a passion will quickly help to change feelings of sadness to feelings of a desire to learn, grow, and achieve. Think of something you have always wanted to do or achieve, then write down the first steps of accomplishing this goal! Think of something you could do to help someone else!
Taking these steps will get you on track to renew your body and mind this spring! If you want to really experience renewal, spring is a great time to do a detox and cleanse your body from the winter comfort foods.
Change of seasons in the spring and fall is a perfect time to detox. Please contact the clinic if you are interested in an individualized spring detox plan.
Three Cheers for Spring Cleaning,
Rachel Oppitz, ND
