Spring Asthenia? I Never Heard Of It…
We’re often perplexed by the scientific wording, but the more common English names for this disease are clearer: spring tiredness or springtime lethargy. To put it simply, the spring sun is out, and as a result, you may find yourself feeling drowsy, uncomfortable, in a poor mood, or suffering from headaches.
Spring asthenia is a type of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a syndrome in which people’s physiological responses to the changing seasons are affected. Reasons for this may be because:
- Over the duration of the winter, the body’s supply of serotonin was depleted. Your body starts to intensify again in the spring, but you don’t have much serotonin to offer it. Nutritional deficiencies are detrimental – if you want your cells to produce more energy, they need the correct vitamins to operate with.
- Your body does not sense the seasons in the same way that your calendar does, and the annual time change means that your body clock has no knowledge why it has been catapulted an hour forward into March.
- Allergy season coincides with the arrival of spring. Plants are blossoming and producing flowers that will eventually produce fruit, resulting in a high concentration of allergens in the surroundings. As a result, people are usually on antihistamines, and a known side effect of these is making people drowsy.
Thankfully, this syndrome fades over time as your body adjusts, typically in a matter of weeks.
So How Do You Deal With ‘Spring Asthenia’?
Easy… maintain a healthy lifestyle. It’s just a matter of trudging through it while your body adjusts. It’s a nice time to relax, so don’t overwork yourself. Here are some pointers to get you started:
- Give your body exactly what it desires. In the spring, additional fresh and natural foods become available. Natural energy boosters include seeds and nuts, as well as the complex carbs found in vegetables and fruit. Also, remember to eat the correct kinds of proteins, such as fish, and if you’re not lactose intolerant, maintain a balanced dairy intake.
- Maintain a good amount of physical activity. Regular exercise over the winter has been demonstrated to help people acclimate to the changing seasons. Getting in shape in time for summer will make you happier, regardless of your fitness ambitions. Getting some fresh air and improving blood circulation also helps to get all of the proper hormones to where they need to be to heal the problem in the first place.
- Stay hydrated. Coffee is a diuretic substance, which causes the body to lose fluids, drying you and making you feel even more weary. If you truly need that caffeinated kick in the morning, consider tea instead of coffee, but after that, stick to water. Your body will be grateful in a variety of ways.
Springtime is an opportunity for the body to adjust to the new season; provided you eat correctly, get enough rest, and exercise, your system will cleanse and regenerate itself naturally and effortlessly.