spring SAD
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Welcome to Joy Lab!: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Joy Lab podcast, where we help you uncover and foster your most joyful self. Your hosts, Dr. Henry Emmons and Dr. Aimee Prasek, bring you the ideal mix of soulful and scientifically sound tools to spark your joy, even when it feels dark. When you're ready to experiment with more joy, combine this podcast with the full Joy Lab program over at JoyLab.coach
Henry: Hello, I'm Henry Emmons and welcome to joy Lab.
Aimee: And I am Aimee Prasek. Here at Joy Lab, we infuse science with soul to help you build your resilience and uncover your joy. And today we are expanding on a conversation Henry and I were having, earlier in this season, a little bit of the dog days of winter, winter transitioning into spring. But we're talking about a variation of seasonal affective disorder or a seasonal mood change that can start around this time, sort of [00:01:00] mid-February or so through April.
But this is different from the usual SAD or winter mood shift that we talk about in winter, which is often described as kind of, or experienced, many of us know it as feeling kind of dragging or unmotivated.
This is different. It's a kind of shift where folks might actually feel more agitated, maybe ruminative, over activated. So Henry, this is something that you've seen as a psychiatrist. Can you describe more about this experience?
Henry: Sure. Yeah. So You described what most people think of as seasonal affective disorder, which is often referred to as winter depression. And that is by far the most common version of seasonal mood changes. And it, it really affects so many of us in living in the far northern part of the country that you could almost consider it normal to get a [00:02:00] little bit down and sluggish in the winter.
And then there's another pretty well accepted form of seasonal affective disorder that doesn't get talked about much, but it's definitely been, you know, researched and validated. And that actually takes place in the mid-summer where some people just really feel out of sorts and funky, you know, in the, when the days are longest and hottest. But this pattern in the spring, I haven't seen as much written about it or talked about it, but it's so, it's a, it's a clinical observation probably more than anything. And it happens in my experience, it's something that happens roughly between mid to late February when it starts and then can go all the way through mid to late April.
So it's about a two month period that's kind of layered around the spring equinox. So the spring equinox is roughly March 20th or 21st, and you [00:03:00] know, let's say six weeks or so on either side of that. And I think that the reason that this happens is because it's a time of year when the days are rapidly changing.
As, as we approach the Equinox, the number of minutes of daylight we gain goes up pretty quickly. And it's just a little unsettling for some people. Most of us just welcome it and say, thank God, you know, we're coming out of the darkness of winter. But it, as far as our bodies go, this is a pretty dramatic and pretty rapid change, and it's not one that feels good for everybody.
Aimee: So we're talking about this seasonal shift. I would imagine that maybe some folks are resonating with this, that the strategies then to care for this type of experience in the spring season are gonna be very different than what we might [00:04:00] do in winter if we're having winter mood concerns. So. Henry, what are some maybe strategies that you have found helpful for folks during this period of seasonal shift?
Henry: Sure, well, one of them sounds simple, but it isn't so simple and, and it's actually one of the reasons we're talking about this today, and that is that it's just really helpful to be able to understand what's going on. To be able to see it. To become aware of it, let's say. Because it's a kind of thing that often sneaks up on people and they don't feel so, um incapacitated as, as some people do in the winter. You know, it's not something that makes you wanna stay in bed all the time and feel, like you just can't think clearly or can't do anything. So it's just not as obvious. It doesn't kind of hit you over the head like the strong winter depression can do.
And so just seeing it and understanding what's going on, I think [00:05:00] can be really helpful and kind of reassuring in fact that, okay, this is not anything really to worry about. It's just a brief transition that I'm going through. I find it to be kind of a helpful reminder that we are mammals and we are subject to the same, uh, natural forces as every other mammal.
And so think about what animals in the wild are doing in the spring, they're getting more activated, right? They're, they're coming out of their winter slumber, their dens or whatever, and they're, they're starting to move, you know? And that's what's happening inside of us. Our bodies are getting reawakened.
And again, for most of us, that's a good thing. But if we tend toward a little bit of overactivation, a little bit of agitation, it can really mess with our moods and in some ways mess with our bodies as well. So it's just helpful to know what's going on. And so one [00:06:00] strategy aside from awareness is just to wait it out. You know, just to realize, okay, this is just a temporary glitch, if you will. It's not even a glitch, it's just kind of a normal variation.
I am feeling more, a little more moody and irritable and outta sorts, but I know it's gonna pass. And probably by the time the leaves bud out or, or we hit May day or something like that, you know, it's, it's, I'm gonna be feeling a lot better.
So that's one strategy. Don't do a thing, just know what's going on and ride it out. I think another strategy is kind of a variation of what we do in the winter where we're trying to tweak our circadian rhythms. You know, we're trying to hack it, so to speak. And you know, a lot of people use bright lights to do that. So you might think of this as a time to really pull back from the bright lights. If you're using a light device, stop using it. You know, I think it's, it's really [00:07:00] okay to put it away for the season, at least by sometime in March, certainly by April. And especially if you're starting to feel revved up and agitated. And then even, uh, take care during these few weeks not to get quite so much light exposure.
You know, use lighter, dimmer lights at home, maybe don't spend as much time outdoors in the peak time of light, or try to darken your room so you're not getting quite such an early morning light exposure. So to use light kind of wisely, but in a, almost the opposite way that you use it in the winter months.
I think another really important strategy is to keep your focus on your sleep. 'Cause if your body's getting reawakened and a little bit overactivated, it usually shows up in your sleep, where you, you're either sleeping shorter hours or maybe you're waking up more in the middle of the night or wake up more easily.
And so, that's a [00:08:00] big conversation. We don't have to go into a lot of detail right now about how to sleep well. We've got a lot of resources for that. maybe we can post them on the show notes, but we really want to keep your focus on your sleep. Make sure you're allowing enough time to sleep.
Try not to wake up too early in the morning. Um, again, if you haven't done it, maybe get some room darkening shades for your bedroom so you don't wake up quite so early. and then take some other measures if you need a little bit of extra help sleeping, there's some really good, safe, natural remedies that that can really be helpful.
Aimee: I'll link to some of our sleep relevant podcasts in the show notes. As it relates to movement and nutrition, Henry, do you see that it could be beneficial for folks to either go with that energy and increase movement, get their wiggles out, or engage in more rhythmic, calming activities, and then the same with food; do you see cutting back on stimulants or those types of alterations helpful.
Henry: [00:09:00] Yeah. So in terms of movement, I would think of it being a little bit of a combination of what you described, Aimee. I think that the most helpful form of movement for this is again, to do some sort of rhythmic, gentle to moderate aerobic activity. Maybe you can, could crank up the volume a little bit on the length or intensity of your walking, for example, or biking or something. But you know, where you are pushing yourself just a little bit harder. I also do think it's helpful to add a little more intensity to the movement here so that you're doing some kind of more intense strength training or or a form of yoga that's a little more active and really gets your heart rate up, uses your muscles. Or maybe, uh, doing some kind of interval work, where it's, you're pushing yourself just a little bit harder and then you back off to that more rhythmic aerobic activity.
What I don't think is helpful right now at this time, if you're feeling [00:10:00] agitated, is to do things that are super intense or competitive or, or rigid. Be, be really kind of, uh, loose and gentle with yourself, but do keep moving. Moving is just really, really key. In terms of nutrition. I am a fan of eating with the seasons and kind of shifting, you know, as we move into spring to just the kind of things that nature is presenting us to eat in the springtime.
So it's more. More greens, you know, more salads, but it, but that actually comes a little bit later when we actually are in full-blown spring. So in this transition time, for those who are feeling agitated, I think it's helpful to go toward the diet that we use for soothing the agitation. We got a lot of resources here, and again, we can link that to the show notes.
But very simply put, we want to eat foods that are kind of maybe a little bit lower in [00:11:00] protein at this time of year. So maybe more of a vegetarian based diet and a lot of healthy carbs, a lot of fiber, a lot of things that take a long time to get into the bloodstream, but then keep the blood sugar stable for a longer period of time.
So whole grains, beans, legumes, those kind of things. A little bit on the comfort food, uh, spectrum, but really with a focus on stabilizing your blood sugar. And that means lots of fiber and the complex carbs.
Aimee: Great, so some movement strategies, eating strategies, being aware we've talked about. So also, Henry, are there any natural therapies that you also rely on with this type of experience for folks?
Henry: Yeah, there's a couple of really simple things that people could add if they're not already taking them. And then there's a couple of other more nuanced, complex supplements to consider if you're really [00:12:00] having troubles. So let me start with the simple things. This is a really good time to add magnesium if you're not already taking it.
Again, we like magnesium threonate for this. Uh, magnesium glycinate is also fine if you're having a lot of trouble tolerating magnesium because of your tummy. But, but usually people tolerate magnesium threonate just fine, and it's a little more effective. I would say the second simple thing to consider is, is just a good brand of l-theanine. And altheine is again, just a calming kind of stabilizing agent that you can find in green tea and food, but if taken as a supplement, it can be really quickly helpful at toning this down. The more nuanced supplements, I think we'll just post them on our show notes.
They're a couple of really good combinations that I think are nice to look at adding as a calming, soothing supplement, maybe just for a month or two, also something that might help with sleep. So we'll list those, uh, [00:13:00] specifically in the show notes.
Aimee: Yes, we'll pop those in the show notes. So we've got a suite of strategies here. I just love that we're we're just talking about this, we are intimately connected to our world. We forget about that. This is normal if, you know, we have these seasonal shifts. Truly as you said, that first strategy of being aware of this normal pattern is so powerful. And of course, you know, there's, there's a spectrum of the experience that we wanna seek out support if you're, feeling like this is resonating with you. Certainly check with your doctor before you start any of the supplements. But there are some really great strategies we can implement right here, now. So thank you Henry. I love this conversation. And I wanna close it with a Whitman quote. So folks, I hope that even if you're experiencing this kind of shift of agitation that still get out there and dig your toes in that soil if you can, or [00:14:00] press your hands on the earth, as we talked about in an earlier episode, it can also stir up some microbes that can stimulate the release of serotonin and calm your system. So here's that Whitman quote. "Now I see the secret of making the best person it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth."
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