How to boost your immune system and mood over winter
Being in a good mood helps you want to work out. Working out helps you be in a good mood. In the spirit of the chicken/egg conundrum, which comes first: the exercise or the good mood?
The winter blues are common for many during the winter months. Cold weather tempts us to curl up under a blanket next to a fireplace and take a nap, because, after all, high-quality sleep carries with it some serious health benefits, both physical and mental. However, too much of anything is good for nothing and sleep is no exception.
Get Movin'!
For overall health and wellness, we also need to throw off the blankets and move our bodies. This is because even moderate exercise has been shown to boost immunity and lower stress levels. Especially during cold and flu season, a strong immune function warding off the flu or common cold will definitely improve your mood. As will reduced stress levels! A Healthline.com article, Exercise, Depression, and the Brain confirms the link between exercise and improved mood.
According to the article, whether you’re experiencing winter blues or a simple case of the Mondays, exercise can help boost your mood. The author states that "Getting regular exercise is important for good physical and mental health. Exercise can help stimulate parts of your brain that aren’t as responsive when you’re feeling [low or] depressed. It also promotes the release of feel-good brain chemicals. It may also help distract you from your worries and improve your confidence."
Exercise releases endorphins which are chemicals produced by the body to relieve stress and pain. They are a type of neurotransmitter and work similarly to opioid pain relievers. Although their results may not be as dramatic, endorphins can produce a “high” that is both healthy and safe, without any danger of addiction and overdose. Exercise also stimulates the release of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. These chemical messengers are heavily involved with the regulation of your mood. Raising your levels of serotonin boosts your mood and overall sense of well-being. It can also help improve your appetite and sleep cycles, which are major components of your mental health.
Regular exercise also helps your body to balance its level of the stress hormone adrenaline. Adrenaline is responsible for your body's fight-or-flight response and too much of it can damage your health. Exercise also regulates your level of cortisol, the really famous stress hormone. Cortisol is a steroid hormone that regulates a wide range of processes throughout the body, including metabolism and the immune response. It also has a very important role in helping the body respond to stress. Cortisol helps you get going in the morning, but too much can disrupt your sleep and affect your sex drive. And you don't want either to be disrupted, right???
Mood Food
OK, so maybe we can get the egg before the chicken, the horse before the cart, and the mood before the exercise. The Mod Squad of Mood Food is rich in antioxidants, vitamin A (beta-carotene), vitamin C, and vitamin D.
Most mammals make their own Vitamin C, but because of an evolutionary quirk, we can't! Fortunately, citrus fruits are readily available nowadays and vitamin C can be readily attained through supplements. Vitamin A is found in carrots and other yellow/orange fruits/vegetables, as well as leafy green veggies and black-eyed peas (the bean, not the band!). Vitamin D is a bit trickier and I'll address it below.
A Healthline.com article, 9 Healthy Foods That Lift Your Mood lists some foods that may help boost your mood and, hopefully, help motivate you to work out! From the article:
Fatty fish: Omega-3 fatty acids are a group of essential fats that you must obtain through your diet because your body can’t produce them on its own. Fish like salmon and tuna may contribute to your mood.
Dark chocolate: Yes, it’s true! Chocolate is rich in many mood-boosting compounds. It may release a cascade of feel-good compounds, such as caffeine, theobromine, and N-acylethanolamine — a substance chemically similar to cannabinoids that have been linked to improved mood.
Fermented foods: kimchi, yogurt, kefir, kombucha, and sauerkraut, may improve gut health and mood. The fermentation process allows probiotic, good bacteria to thrive. A healthy gut microbiome may increase serotonin levels, which, as mentioned above, affect your mood, stress response, and sexual drive.
Bananas: The fruit that looks like a smile, may actually improve your mood! They’re high in vitamin B6, which helps synthesize feel-good neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin. Also, they are an excellent source of prebiotics, especially when still showing green on the peel. Prebiotics help feed the good bacteria in your gut, which as you now know, increase feel-good neurotransmitters.
Oats: All whole grains have fiber which helps slow your digestion of carbs. This allows for a gradual release of sugar into the bloodstream and helps keep your energy levels stable. A bowl of oatmeal or granola in the morning may boost your mood by helping prevent low blood sugar, a definite mood killer!
Berries: Berries pack a wide range of antioxidants and phenolic compounds, which play a key role in combatting oxidative stress, an imbalance of harmful compounds in your body.
Nuts and seeds: They provide tryptophan, an amino acid responsible for producing mood-boosting serotonin. Almonds, cashews, peanuts, and walnuts, as well as pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower seeds, are excellent sources.
Coffee: Your morning cup o' joe increases the release of mood-boosting neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and norepinephrine. Studies show that even decaf has this effect which researchers attribute to various phenolic compounds, such as chlorogenic acid.
Beans and lentils: Beans and lentils are full of feel-good nutrients. They’re an excellent source of B vitamins, which help improve mood by increasing levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), all of which are important for regulating mood. They’re also a good source of zinc, magnesium, selenium, and non-heme iron, which may likewise elevate your spirits.
Turmeric: Medical News Today reports that turmeric contains a compound called curcumin that may boost memory and mood.
Note: If you feel that you can’t hit all of your nutritional needs from diet alone, you may want to consider taking a multivitamin or immune-boosting formula such as Performance Lab PL-Immune.
Get Thee to a Sunnery! (Vitamin D)
With apologies to William Shakespeare, Vitamin D is intimately connected to mood. It's difficult to say exactly how much time is needed in the sun for someone to make enough vitamin D to meet their body's requirements. This is because there are a number of factors that can affect how vitamin D is made, such as skin color or how much skin is exposed.
Most people in the northern hemisphere can make enough vitamin D from being out in the sun daily for short periods with their forearms, hands, and/or lower legs uncovered, without sunscreen, from Spring to the end of September, especially from 11 am to 3 pm. Even with a vitamin D supplement, one should still try to get some daily sun to activate it.
Healthline.com recommends stepping out into the sun for about 10 to 30 minutes three times a week, if possible, with the caveat that people with darker skin may need more sun exposure than people with light skin to reap the same benefits. They also remind us to try to limit your sun exposure, as too much time spent in the sun can damage your skin, cause sunburn, and increase your risk of skin cancer.
Sleep
As mentioned above, getting enough sleep is vital for our overall health and well-being. While you sleep, your body works to support healthy brain function, maintain your physical health, and repair/build muscle. The effects of not getting enough quality sleep are cumulative. Getting one hour less of sleep than needed for a week is the same as getting enough sleep for six days then staying up all night on the seventh.
When you do not get enough sleep, you not only feel tired but find it hard to concentrate. Lack of sleep can also impair your judgment and impact your physical coordination. So not getting enough sleep affects the way you feel, think, work, learn and get along with other people. If you are following a training program, you may be more prone to injury. Your weight-lifting form may get sloppy or you may slip and fall during your cardio.
According to the folks at Sleep.org, to ensure muscle growth, recovery, and injury prevention:
Practice good sleep hygiene: Make sure your room is dark, cool, and free of noise.
Make sure you’ve got the right mattress and pillow.
If possible, limit media and digital devices in bed. This conditions your brain to turn off when you go to bed.
Sleep boosts muscle mass because growth hormones are released during periods of deep sleep.
The hunger regulating hormones leptin and ghrelin are thrown off by poor sleep, increasing hunger and food intake. Being hungry is definitely a mood killer.
Sleep Improves muscle coordination. Studies show that proper sleep leads to increased accuracy, faster reaction times and speeds, and improved overall performance.
Take Aways
Eating right and exercising will boost your mood which will make you want to exercise and eat right!
Eating immune-boosting foods can help you with your health care by lowering stress levels and motivating you to do your workout.
The winter blues can be daunting. Don't give up. Exercise. Eat right. Get enough sleep.
