Last week on the blog, we discussed how seasonal affective disorder (SAD) disrupts wholesome behaviors and overall happiness. SAD is a serious and diagnosable disorder, but is often confused with the common symptoms of the “winter blues.” Millions of Americans have trouble staying energized during the winter, but aren’t necessarily suffering from a serious condition such as seasonal depression.
With temperatures dropping lower and fewer days of sunshine, the urge to hibernate indoors is strong. Fight off feelings of fatigue by shaking up your routine and implementing the following energy-boosting strategies:
Reorganize and Refresh
Who says a major cleaning session is only doable in spring? Clear out your living space and stay energized by tackling annual housework tasks during the winter. Start by reorganizing your paperwork and knick-knacks. After you have small items properly stowed in clearly marked drawers and bins, pull out the vacuum cleaner and rubber gloves. Snow, ice and sidewalk salt are easily tracked indoors via shoes, so maintaining a regular floor cleaning routine helps minimize dirt and germs inside of the home. In addition, clean the interior sides of windows and wipe out kitchen cabinets to eliminate dust and debris. Wash throw pillow covers and spot treat any rug stains from spills or furry friends. Deep cleaning your home helps you feel centered and revitalized while impressing your holiday visitors.
Eat Healthy
Holiday treats are difficult to resist. Sugar cookies, eggnog, fruit cake, hot chocolate, cocktails and dinner roasts seem to taunt your diet all the way from your personal kitchen to the office. Winter weather makes it difficult to stay energized as is, but entering a food coma or sugar crash makes fatigue worse. Maintain your regular diet of fresh fruits, veggies, lean proteins and whole grains throughout the holiday season to maintain liveliness. Indulging around the holidays is arguably a rite of passage, so allow yourself some wiggle room in the sweets department. Indulge a few times throughout the week, but maintain your portion control and calorie limits. When in doubt, use a food scale and a calorie counting app to track your intake. Remember, avoiding sugar completely could put you at a higher risk of a sudden binge.
Improve Your Smile
In a study called “Grin and Bear It: The Influence of Manipulated Positive Expression on the Stress Response,” researchers found that forcing a smile can encourage positive, happy emotions and relaxation.¹ But, for individuals with missing, cracked or stained teeth, smiling is sometimes embarrassing above all. At Assure A Smile, we help patients restore their smile and self-confidence through oral prosthetics and zirconia dental implants. Zirconia implants are the preferred prosthetic among holistic dentists because of their “metal-free” composition that ensures safety for patients with allergies and sensitivities. Zirconium contains trace amounts of hafnium and yttrium but not enough to spark a reaction in patients. Unlike titanium alloys, zirconia implants are biocompatible.
To beat the winter blues, schedule your appointment for zirconia implants in Miami by calling us at 305-274-0047. Dr. Ted Herrmann and the Assure A Smile team would like to wish our patients and followers a happy, healthy winter.
¹ http://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/smiling-facilitates-stress-recovery.html#.WFRVRqIrLSA
3 Quick and Easy Ways to Stay Energized this Winter
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