Seasonal slowdown
Resting mind, body best way to deal with fatigue brought on by change of season
Published: Sunday, October 25, 2009 at 3:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 6:24 p.m.
The tired season is upon us. The days grow short and the wet season begins. Pretty soont the days will be so short we’ll be getting up in the dark, driving home in the dark.
Next Saturday night, we turn the clocks back an hour. But when we think about the clocks “falling back” in autumn, the image we conjure may be of collapsing onto the couch.
There’s something about the change of season, the shortening days and the change of time that saps our energy. What can we do to get it back?
Family physician David Schneider says everyday fatigue, which can increase during the change of seasons, can be handled by first remembering some age-old prescriptions: eat right, exercise and reduce stress. In addition, he says, take a good multivitamin and maybe a B-complex supplement.
He said when patients come dragging in to complain about always feeling tired, he recommends “rest and sleep,” a simple remedy which he acknowledges “is often difficult to get in today’s world.”
He also believes in meditation or other mindfulness or spiritual practice to help reduce fatigue.
Fatigue, he said, “is so common as to essentially be a natural part of the human condition, especially in our society.” Schneider, a faculty physician at the Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency, estimates one in three primary-care patients complains of fatigue.
But the solution to seasonal fatigue is more than just getting more sleep. In addition to “good-quality, restorative sleep,” he encourages taking time to rest, by which he means “temporary relief from the daily activities of life and work. Like staying away from work on the weekend and doing something relaxing or fun. If I had the power to prescribe vacations, I would do so liberally.”
Prolonged fatigue, he said, can be a symptom of a host of serious disorders, including congestive heart failure, diabetes, sleep apnea, thyroid problems, depression and also seasonal affective disorder, whose acronym is SAD.
Commonly known as winter depression, SAD is thought to be connected to reduced production of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain, caused by insufficient sunlight. Some SAD cases are treated with light therapy. Schneider generally recommends that everyone “get outside into the light for at least a few minutes each day. Studies have found that people exposed to daylight simply tend to function better.”
In spite of the ailments connected with low energy, Schneider said, “The good news is that the vast majority of patients who experience acute or prolonged fatigue do not have a serious life-threatening illness. People should seek medical care if they have symptoms of fatigue, but they don’t need to panic about it.”
To keep his own energy up, Schneider favors meditation and a diet containing foods rich in omega-3 fats, like salmon, avocados and nuts.
Nutritionist and food educator Patty James of Sebastopol said her favorite quick-energy snack is an apple slathered with peanut or almond butter.
“It has carbohydrates, healthy fats, dietary fiber, proteins, vitamins and antioxidants,” she said. “It’s perfect.”
In the fall and winter, she said, people naturally start thinking about comfort food, which is fine as long as the choice is oatmeal rather than doughnuts. Low energy often brings on a craving for carbohydrates, “which are your main fuel source,” she said — but also for sugar.
“If you grab something sugary for the quick pick-up, you’ll crash. Sugar is not good for energy.”
As for coffee, the beloved American wake-up brew, James said if you can’t say no, protect your stomach by drinking water first thing in the morning. Dehydration contributes to that fatigued feeling. “Dairy, alcohol, caffeine are all dehydrating.” But, she said, “the more water you drink the more energy you have.” And keep gulping, she said. “If you’re thirsty, you’ve waited too long.”
For a refreshing sleep, James advises, “Turn off the electronics a couple of hours before going to bed, take a warm bath and do the old-fashioned glass of warm milk.”
Herbalist Leslie Gardner of Sebastopol believes that fall and winter are natural times to slow the pace, “a time to not pump yourself up.”
“It’s one of the best times of the year to cleanse” the body, said Gardner, who favors an all-vegetable or fruit fast for a few days. “It helps all that sluggishness, to get rid of the toxins we build up in our system.
“The change of the seasons naturally makes us want to hibernate,” said Gardner, who is director of the Sonoma County Herb Exchange. “If we’re smart and if we’re able, then we will slow down, set boundaries, sleep more, take the nap, say no. We’ll sit down on a rainy day and read a book.
“That’s hard to do in our fast world, but our body naturally wants to do it. If we can go along with slowing down, it helps to get our energy back.”
Or you can consider a variety of energy-delivering herbs. Gardner endorses a group of herbs called adaptogens, which she said “nourish the nervous system when we get frayed or tired.”
Among them is the newly popular tulsi, an Indian basil plant that is available in tea form and said to provide energy because it helps the body adapt to stress. Another is ashwaganda, a root that comes in tincture form or a capsule.
A favorite energy-giving herb is green tea, said Gardner, which has a small amount of caffeine and is loaded with antioxidants. Gardner’s personal favorite is yerba mate tea, which she drinks as a coffee alternative. Even though it does contain some caffeine — “more like a caffeine cousin” — she said it boosts her energy without giving her coffee jitters.
And there’s ginseng, revered in Chinese traditional medicine for its energy-giving qualities. The belief, said Gardner, is “that everyone over 40 should take ginseng daily because we each have a finite amount of natural energy in our life.”
There are many ways to keep your motor running. Kris Freewoman, exercise class director at Parkpoint Health Club in Santa Rosa, swears by a combination of African dance, blueberry smoothies and an afternoon nap. Then, at dusk, a walk at Spring Lake Park.
It’s more than an energy lift, she said. “It’s my soul food.”
Susan Swartz is a freelance writer and author based in Sonoma County. Contact her at susan@juicytomatoes.com.
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