Sarah’s Health Notes: Banish the winter blues
Oh dear. I sometimes despair of how dim I can be about my own healthcare. I’ve trudged through January, feeling as if I was walking in leaden welly boots under a dark grey umbrella – and, unlike my usual, pretty cheery outlook, I felt low and very much lacking in energy all round.
I don’t have fullblown SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) but I certainly had the winter blues. Various friends said they felt the same, with no specific reason they could pinpoint. Then, suddenly, I had a light bulb moment… Literally.
I fished out my years old Lumie desktop Light Box, which is casting its 10,000lux beam - the equivalent of a bright summer’s day - on me as I write this. And I just cannot tell you how much half an hour under my ‘sun lamp’ helps. I’m back to my usual self. (The equivalent is the Lumie Vitamin L- Slim Light Box, currently on offer here.)
My husband works in his north facing ‘den’ with a low ceiling and quite a small window so I have bought him one too. Different brand but again on offer and again giving the recommended 10,000lux –. He is distinctly gleeful about it. Details here.
(Just one thing to be aware of: if you have a health condition such as lupus, a light box is probably not your best friend. So, if in doubt, please do consult your doctor.)
But that’s not all I’d forgotten (duh…). Come in adaptogens, the clever medicinal plants that go where they are needed. Here’s a bit of what I wrote about them some time back:
There’s a family of medicinal herbs called adaptogens, a name that gives you a clue to what they do. Extracts from these plants support your body’s resilience and ability to adapt to physical and mental stress. They act on multiple parts of the body at the same time, raising what is low – e.g. energy - and lowering what’s high – eg stress.
For millennia, adaptogens have been part of the natural pharmacopeia in traditional medical systems such as Ayurveda – where they are still much used in the present day. Apparently, these herbal pharmaceuticals were first studied in the West during World War II when scientists were looking for a superhero supplement to help pilots fly better, faster, longer. The term ‘adaptogen’ was first used in scientific literature in 1957 by Russian toxicologist Nikolay Lazarev.
According to Master Herbsmith Sebastian Pole of Pukka Herbs, adaptogens are more than ever relevant to help us cope with the pressures bearing down on us at the moment. He explains that ‘adaptogenic herbs are said to have a normalising effect on the body and mind, reducing the negative changes that can happen in your body in response to stress’.
My tried and trusted adaptogen is Siberian ginseng, which comes in a nifty one-a-day capsule as Sibergin, from victoriahealth.com. For the past two weeks, I’ve been back on this stimulating adaptogen and I remember why we used to call it ‘rocket fuel’.
And, of course, vitamin D. Most of us have low levels of this vital vitamin (really a hormone) over winter and experts are united about the need to supplement. We take BetterYou D1000 Vitamin D Oral Spray, a steal at £7.35 for a squish a day.
So, it really is ‘begone dull care’. The days are lengthening now but I will be on my banish-the-blues regime until we leap into Spring.
