Blue Monday and how to protect your mental health ALL YEAR LONG.

The third Monday of the month, January 16th, marks ‘Blue Monday,’ considered to be the saddest day of the year and a particularly heavy time for some. 

Our Health & Wellness practitioners have some advice on How to protect your mental health ahead of ‘Blue Monday’ and year round.

Fit for Life Physiotherapy:  Physical stress, emotional stress or persistent pain will all drive our sympathetic nervous system (our fight or flight system) which can create some negative responses in our bodies. It is very well known that things like meditation and breathing can help calm the nervous system and make us feel better.

What is important to note is HOW we breath to relax and wind down. Take a moment and pay attention to your breath. Do you tend to hold your breath? Do you notice a lot of movement in your upper chest? Can you feel your belly rise or your rib cage expand? Stress and pain will tend to make us breath in a very shallow manner and mostly in to our upper chest. Not a calming breath! A calming breath comes from our diaphragm (our breathing muscle) and is long and slow when we breath out.

Think about your breath as an umbrella. When you breath in your lower rib cage expands and opens like an umbrella (your upper chest movement stays pretty quiet) and when you breath out the umbrella closes. So when you feel like you need some calm think about a slow umbrella breath. On a rainy day it is always more comfortable when using an umbrella.

Medisthetics Wellness & Laser Clinic: Red light therapy is known to enhance mental wellbeing, in both daily life and during stressful times. It’s been proven to boost serotonin and dopamine levels. Red light has been shown to help lift mood, thus increasing self-esteem. This is interesting because melanopsin is naturally produced in our brain cells, which is the reason why it has an antidepressant effect. Other studies have shown that bright red light has been shown to decrease anxiety, pain and heart rate, and boost cognition. Read up on the MD Laser Clinic Blog.

Read More Here: https://www.mdlaserclinic.com/redlighttherapy

Stillwater Float Centre: The Benefits of Float Therapy:

Winter is a season for rest and hibernation. Sleep deprivation can significantly amplify depression and anxiety. Floating is a great way to experience deep relaxation-both mentally and physically. We are frequently asked if it’s okay to nod off in the pod, and we always say yes. In fact, we encourage it!

The effectiveness of floating in reducing stress and anxiety has been supported by numerous clinical research. Your brain will frequently be able to make sense of things on its own in the absence of any external stimulation and recognize that what we worry about on a daily basis isn’t always such a huge deal. Because the brain doesn’t have all five senses providing input during a float session, our brain wave frequencies are able to settle down into a deeper state of relaxation. This relaxed state is called theta brainwaves and is the same state that we all achieve during REM sleep.

The Fitness Firm: Exercise and Mental Health:

When is the last time you left your living room floor dancing, a fitness class, came home from a hike, a favourite game or sport, feeling anything less than great if not exhilarated. It’s no secret, exercise improves your mood. And… Your choice of exercise is up to you. Your choice doesn’t have to be out of this world challenging. While some people love that challenge both mentally and physically – in general, when we move our bodies any which way for a period of time of 20 mins or more, we feel good afterwards. Through physiological and biochemical mechanisms, exercise has a positive effect on stress, anxiety and depression. In other words, research shows that both aerobic (continuous moderate) and anaerobic (short bursts of intense exercise) have a positive effect on mental health. Some studies show that physical activity can be just as effective if not more than psychotherapy. Just 20-40 mins can improve anxiety and depression for several hours after the exercise has stopped. Exercise provides individuals with a distraction from ruminating negative thoughts and stimulates biochemicals and neurotransmitters to circulate throughout the body which can boost self-esteem and an overall improved sense of well-being. 

How do you start? 

  1. Find and choose an activity that you like to do.
  2. Ask a friend to join you for accountability purposes .
  3. Register for the activity (if required) 
  4. Go for it. 
  5. If you fail, start again and call your friend for encouragement. 

If you need assistance with what to do, how to do it or when to do it – we can assist you here at The Fitness Firm. We make it our mission to increase physical activity safely and sustainably in the lives of the many members that walk through our doors. Call or visit us anytime 🙂 

Source: Maturitas, December 2017. Pages 48-56.

Nixon Martial Arts: The science is in on the old saying healthy body, healthy mind. Exercise (especially cardio exercises like Karate) helps to boost our serotonin levels which positively affects our moods and reduce our cortisol which is basically our stress hormone. If you’re ever feeling down or stressed one of the best things you can do for yourself is go for a workout. You’ll feel better on the other side of it.

Good advice from Dr. Pedlar Restorative Dentistry: Take a peek at this summary of recently read health trends: Eat when you’re hungry, stop when your not, hydrate, exercise and then rest, sleep, read, go out to see the sights and be seen, connect and communicate in our community, enjoy peace and a positive healthy lifestyle.

Sol Exotica Tanning Salon: Sufferers who use sun-beds on a regular basis, autumn through to winter not only see the benefits of a sun-kissed appearance, but the warm lighting for short, regular periods of time will:

  • Increase Vitamin D levels and combat Seasonal Affective Disorder
  • Boosts mood – the UV light encourages our bodies to produce more endorphins & Serotonin 
  • Exposure to UV light can also aid in a healthy sleep cycle. 
  • Boosts Immune System – UV Light reduces your chances of getting the cold & flu and can prevent several types of autoimmune diseases.

Whether you have Seasonal Affective Disorder or just need a pick me up, a trip to the tanning salon is a good solution.

Reach out Aldershot! Take some time to call these practitioners and providers and help yourself through this long winter; get on the road to feeling great!