Daylight Savings

Goooooooooooooooood morning

It is officially the changing of the seasons and we will be gaining an hour with Daylight Savings at 2am this Saturday!

Winter is just around the corner and mitigating winter blues due to lack of sunshine is a priority! Along with the anticipation of enjoying skiing, skating, tabagoning season and all the sports that come with the magic of snow…we also need to anticipate the effects of less sun exposure.

I can count on over two hands the number of friends, patients, kids of patients and my love who are feeling the effects of a suppressed immune system.

So we must be proactive and mitigate the effects just as the trees are loosing their leaves with less sunshine and colder temperatures....

According to CAMH approximately 15% of the population is effected by SAD also know as Seasonal Affected Disorder. The effect of less sunshine in the sky, altered activity, sleep and social patterns post-summer season has a depressive effect on our mood, immune system and bone health among others...

Symptoms of SAD include:

- daytime fatigue
- Altered sleep patterns
- altered eating patterns and weight gain
- trouble concentrating
- thoughts of suicide

How to mitigate the SAD blues:

- Supplementation of Vitamin D! Do I want to feel like Adriana....? or Super ADRIANA! Try 4000IU's of vitamin D every day as the sun goes to sleep a little earlier every day until November 6th and then some!

- try a blue light mood light, when the sun is not available to tell our body to start the day and our circadian rhythm.

- stand outside when the sun comes up to allow the blue light of the sun to hit the bottom of your eye to tell your brain to start your corcadian rhythm.

- movement and exercise first thing in the morning will also start your circadian rhythm let alone release all the feel good hormones let alone make you feel stronger to tackle the day! If you need motivation to get your butt up out of bed and moving, try this 15 minute video: https://youtu.be/HKXN64xq45A