How You Can Fight SAD!

Yep, the clocks are going back this week Sunday in England to retain some daylight and winter is on its way and here to stay, well, for a good few months anyway!

  • Are you fully equipped?
  • Are you prepared?
  • Have you heard of SAD and do you know what it is?
  • Do you / Could you be suffering from SAD?

Well, let me fill you in…

A type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons — SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year. If you’re like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody.

Let me tell ya!….

I am definitely a summer baby and my mood is certainly perkier in the summer months. I’m more of a go getter and confident and wanting to be outdoors when the sun is out and it’s warm.

BUT, when the weather is gloomy, raining (particularly that annoying rain, where it’s not really raining but it’s raining as though Someone is consistently spitting in your face), windy and cold I can tell you for free that I’d rather be at home all cosy, hibernating and staying warm. I have no interest in being outside in the winter months unless I REALLY have to.

How do you know if you suffer from SAD and what are the symptoms?

Well… here are the symptoms:-

Symptoms of SAD

Symptoms of SAD can include:

  • a persistent low mood 
  • a loss of pleasure or interest in normal everyday activities 
  • irritability 
  • feelings of despair, guilt and worthlessness 
  • feeling lethargic (lacking in energy) and sleepy during the day 
  • sleeping for longer than normal and finding it hard to get up in the morning 
  • craving carbohydrates and gaining weight (this is so me…)

I’ve done my research and these are the top…

6 Ways You Can Punch Up SAD!

  1. Get up and Go Out! – Yep unfortunately that’s the highest recommendation I can give you. Don’t think about how cold it is just get up and get out- I’m afraid you’ll have to brace it and face it.
  2. Eat up Love! – Get those Complex carbohydrates in you, they can really help maintain levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that regulates mood.  Complex carbohydrates are found in foods such as peas, beans, whole grains, and vegetables. These are very simple and complex carbohydrates which are turned to glucose (blood sugar) in the body and then this in turn ignites your body with energy.
  3. Try some Light therapy – Is a special lamp called a light box which is used to imitate the appearance and exposure of sunlight. Or even better go out for 10 mins and absorb some natural sunlight and get some vitamin D.
  4. Get some exercise on – Netflix and Chill will have to chill I’m afraid. You need to head to the gym or run around and get your sweat on. Once your endorphins have increased from your exercise then you will begin to feel more cheerful and your mood will gradually bounce back. You can’t go for one day and pack it in though, make sure you keep it up, it doesn’t have to be an extensive workout at all- little and often will do just the trick! According to a study, physical exercise works like some anti- depressants to alter brain chemistry.
  5. Talk it Out! Invite some friends around, arrange an outing or just pickup the phone and have a conversation – Just get talking! When you’re not feeling spontaneous, you’re cold and just want to stay in and be cosy you must be around outgoing people they can subconsciously pick up your mood or even encourage you to go out.
  6. Stay warm – OK OK, you won here! You have to stay cosy and warm whilst you do all of the above. Feeling cold if you don’t like it, can actually make you feel more depressed and uncomfortable and totally grumpy. So wrap up like a burrito if you’re going out and if you’re indoors crank up the heating to you comfortable sauna setting and most importantly stay HAPPY.

I hope you enjoyed this post and found some useful tips. If you have any useful ideas that you think can help someone too please share in the comments below.

It would also be interesting to know how many other people suffer from SAD.

Love Mummanopoly 💋

Let me leave you with a quote of the day….

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Stay tuned for my next post on ‘My First Look Book.’

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Successful Morning Routine – Not Just For Mums!

Mummy get up now, stop sleeping all the time – My 3 year old

Apparently I sleep too much according to him, because I’m not already up at 6:20am on a Sunday morning!!!

*Small print*
If you’re not a mother and cannot relate, please skip right down to the How to Wake Up Early Every Morning Checklist below.

I need some help guys! Mums and dads alike! Even those of you who can just get up with ease as though someone is handing you £50k at the end of your bed for getting up so early without prompt. Erm…How do you do it!?

I am just not a morning person.

You would have thought after nearly 7 years of motherhood I would be springing out of bed like a spring chicken and commencing the day from 4am prompt every morning. Making a healthy yummy Kale and banana smoothie for breakfast, with some freshly baked homemade multiseeded bread, Yeah right!

To the mother that has the house done and breakfast made before the household is up! If you’re that mum please can you DM me! So I can take some tips and give you some accolades! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

After some research and trying these myself, I know that the checklist below definitely works and has been proven by successful people!

How to wake up early everyday checklist

  • 1. Wake up Early!
  • Yep, just do it already! Apparently if you’re a top dog and you get things done typa person… Research suggests that you are usually waking up as early as 4.30am every morning.
  • In a poll of 20 executives cited by Laura Vanderkam, a time-management expert and the author of “What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast,” 90% said they wake up before 6 a.m. on weekdays. PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, for example, wakes at 4 and is in the office no later than 7. Disney CEO Bob Iger gets up at 4:30 to read. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is up at 5:30 to go jogging.

  • 2. Do some Exercise mate!
  • Yep! God give me strength! The thought of exercising as soon as I get out of bed, I can’t even imagine!!
  • BUT, I have tried it before, and obviously I haven’t been able to keep up with it.. but I have tried the following; a yoga tutorial from YouTube and doing it for 20-30 mins every morning, and I do feel rejuvenated with a zest of energy and of course fully stretched. Just imagine you’ve been sleeping for so many hours… a good stretch is fully required! Google the health benefits! Or check out the benefits I found out Here
  • This is some more inspiration for you too..
  • Barack Obama starts out each day with strength and cardio training while Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey does three repetitions of a seven-minute workout, Anisa Purbasari reported for Business Insider.

    “These are incredibly busy people,” says Vanderkam. “If they make time to exercise, it must be important.”

  • 3. Get on with some important stuff (This is actually a 3 in 1 check)
  • I know when I’m up early and do some paperwork, pay bills, blog, respond to emails over a coffee or so, I’m fully alert and in the correct mindset.
  • Setting a To Do list for the day is also a great thing to do first thing in the morning before distractions begin to mount and fully distract us from what is important and must be done!
  • Work on your dreams, side hustle, business, plans or holidays- the stuff you can’t focus on once everyone one is up and in the way!
  • According to the Telegraph, Ludwig Beethoven, John Milton, Kurt Vonnegut, Maya Angelou, and Victor Hugo all tackled their creative projects in the morning.

  • 4. Last but not least… Enjoy the Silence..
  • Instead of sleeping an extra 5-10 minutes and snoozing your life away… just get up earlier and have a moment to yourself… it feels so great when I’m up before everyone and I can just allow my mind to run free in peace… or just Sit and just stare into space for 10 mins over coffee (who does the early morning blank gaze, mouth opened just day dreaming about nothing)…
  • By the time you need to be really up you’ve got the slouch out the way and you’re good to go!
  • Hope you’ll find these tips useful! Please also share any you may have too!
  • Catch me on Insta, Twitter or Pinterest (I’m Mummanopoly in all platform)! ..and say “Hey Mumma!”
  • Mummanopoly
  • Playing the game of life to win! 💋