It’s cold and bleak, the days are short, and hauling yourself out of bed takes more physical effort than hauling your 30 kilo suitcase up four flights of stairs on move-in day. Except you have to do it. Every other morning.
A lot of people are at risk of sinking into a temporary state of semi-depression around this time of year. It is sometimes called Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD (how appropriate) and most importantly, according to Exercise Science writer Shannon Clark, it’s more common in women than in men!
With winter’s teeth sunk deep into Montreal, its hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It won’t be until March that the city will thaw, but you absolutely do not have to endure the blues until that long!
Here are a few suggestions you can incorporate into your routine to get back that energy and positive outlook that you deserve regardless of the season.
1. Monitor your cravings for sugar.
This is especially important for those with depressive or addictive tendencies. According to Kathleen DesMaisons, author of national bestselling book Potatoes Not Prozac, your relationship with sweet things is operating on a cellular level. The dependence on sweets is more powerful than you have realized. What you eat can have a huge effect on how you feel.
Personally, when I start eating more sugary foods like baked goods and hot chocolate (which is pretty much all the time), there descends upon my psyche a feeling of lack of control and loss of self-discipline, which is a very scary thing for me. I know it’s a terrible thing to be a control freak, but the feeling of desperation I get from my love-hate relationship with sugar stresses me out and contributes to that depressive state.
Addiction to sugar is a real thing, girls. And addiction to anything really is never good. The cold weather is not a cue for losing control.
2. Exercise!
There is a reason you’ve probably heard this one so many times. That’s because it is such a great way to stay healthy and get those endorphins to rush out when you need them most. It’s your hormones to the rescue—you’ve just got to do your part.
According to an infographic by Happify.com, exercise increases endorphins and other feel-good brain chemicals, reduces levels of stress hormones like cortisol, and is a proven remedy for depression and anxiety.
If you enjoy skiing, or snowboarding or winter sports in general, do it. And if you’ve been meaning to learn, learn it. Now’s the time, and the best part is you’ll have something to look forward to come next winter season (yes, there are things to look forward to besides Christmas).
The McGill Outdoors Club (MOC) organizes fun and adventurous winter outings lead by McGill students like yourselves. These include and are not limited to: ice-climbing, cross-country skiing, hikes and even ice-canoeing. You can even lead one! For more information, visit their website and check out the glorious MOC House and the gear-rental protocol, and ask about how to get invovled in one (or more!) of these outdoor sports trips.
If outdoor winter sports don’t appeal to you, join the McGill gym! Its only about $26 per semester (that’s honestly an incredible price) to join the Fitness Center, and you can do it in a few clicks on the McGill athletics website.
3. Soak up the sun.
If you wake up at noon, you get a grand total of maybe four hours of daylight. Wake up at 9am, and you get seven! Maximize the amount of sunlight you get to witness every day. Try waking up earlier to give yourself time to sit up in bed and look out the window and just appreciate the daylight and how everything looks in it. Appreciate how pretty the snow-laden trees and rooftops look, and if there’s a clear blue winter sky above it all, then all the better.
This little exercise can help lift your mood, wake you up in preparation for your day, and not hate winter so much, because with it comes that white stuff that’s actually quite pretty.
Soaking up the sun requires you to go outside too, as in, out your door. Even if all your lectures are recorded and staying home all day seems like the best idea since sliced bread, try to step outside and breathe in the fresh air. Of course, if it’s a miserable minus 40 degrees Celsius, I second the motion of staying inside and getting a head start on that Netflix marathon. But anything above a minus 20, and you really ought to be going out. If you’ve been inside so long you’re afraid the neighbors are going to try and rent your place out, I strongly suggest thinking long and hard about the prospect of stepping outside.
4. Increase your Vitamin D intake.
What does sunlight give you? Vitamin D. It comes as no surprise, of course, that Vitamin D is also called the “sunshine vitamin.” It is not 100 percent clear how Vitamin D affects one’s mood, but its better to err on the side of caution.
Sources of Vitamin D include cheeses and dairies, egg yolk and beef liver, and fish oils from salmon, tuna, and mackerel.
You may want to consider more concentrated intakes too, or if you don’t fancy “intaking” any of the above, Jamieson’s Vitamin D gummies are really popular and can be found at the supplement section of any Jean Coutu, Metro or Provigo. Not to mention, they are so delicious and taste like summer.
5. Host dinner parties or potlucks.
This is a great way to stay in touch with your friends and get that moral support throughout the season. Winter is the loneliest time of the year, so hold your friends close! Organizing a regular get-together or potluck cycle is one the best ways to have something to look forward to every couple weeks (heaven knows you need it). What else are friends for?
So there it is. Now go out there and bust those blues. Nothing should get to put you in a bad mood, not even the weather!
Information obtained from:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/beat-the-winter-blues-4-ways-to-overcome-sad.html
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/01/04/12-winter-depression-busters/
Images obtained from:
http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/the-brain-loves-sugar/
http://www.thesmithclinic.com/blog/the-happiness-element-10-tips-to-exercise-your-happiness/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/varmlandspojk/8899744404/
http://randuwa.blogspot.ca/2014/01/looking-out-office-window-as-sun-was.html
http://pixshark.com/vitamin-d-pills.htm
http://www.flashuser.net/photos-human-emotions-happiness
and author’s own.