Introduction
Daylight savings time is right around the corner. Do you know what that means? Shorter days. This has a tendency to lead to depression in some individuals. This article will provide strategies to prevent depressive episodes as the winter months approach and the days become shorter.
Take A Vitamin D Supplement
One of the simplest ways to prevent depression as the days become shorter is to take a Vitamin D supplement. According to everydayhealth.com, the following can be noted about taking a Vitamin D supplement as the days become shorter and the winter months approach:
It’s a very good idea to take a vitamin D supplement during the winter months, especially if you can’t plant yourself and your laptop in the Caribbean for 120 days until we “spring forward.”
So many diseases are correlated with low vitamin D levels, especially depression. Even if you’re not feeling low, I would absolutely have your levels checked, which your primary care physician can do. The National Institutes of Health’s recommended dietary allowance for vitamin D is 600 IUs a day. But Mercola suggests that adults take as much as 5,000 IUs per day (I take 3,000 IUs in a liquid). Your doctor can help you determine the best amount of vitamin D to take, if you need it.
Certain foods are good sources of Vitamin D, including cod liver oil, swordfish, salmon, tuna, milk, yogurt, sardines, eggs, and cereals fortified with vitamin D.
Get Some Exercise
In addition to taking vitamin D supplements to decrease the rate of depression as the days become shorter, another way to prevent depressive episodes is to get some exercise. According to everydayhealth.com, the following can be noted:
Although we’ve known for decades that exercise can decrease depression symptoms, a study published in February 2006 in the Journal of Neuroscience found that exercise increased the levels of the neurotransmitters glutamate and GABA, both of which are depleted in the brains of people with depression and anxiety. The researchers found that aerobic exercise activates the metabolic pathways that replenish these neurotransmitters, allowing the brain to better communicate with the body. In a recent Time magazine cover story on the science of exercise, Mandy Oaklander writes, “If there were a drug that could do for human health everything that exercise can, it would likely be the most valuable pharmaceutical ever developed.”
With that said, exercise is a natural source of medicine for your body.
Conclusion
To conclude this article, two strategies for reducing depression, including taking vitamin D supplements and exercising on a regular basis, as the days become shorter have been mentioned.
Photo by FritzFlohrReynolds 