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Winter Blues?

Hi,



In general I can only describe how I feel as winter blues, I'm permanently tired, even though I'm sleeping well, and in general feel really run down, I swear, as silly as it sounds it's since the clocks went back. I seem to be getting a cold permanently, even though I never fully get one, and just feel wrong! I'm not normally like this at all.



I know this is a long shot, but does anyone else have this, and, 'PLEASE' has a remedy?



I'm desperate to get back to full training, but know it's not going to do me any good whilst I feel a bit ill.



Thanks



Grant

Comments

  • treefrogtreefrog Posts: 1,242
    Yep thats the winter blues, SAD, or CBA (cant be assed). Cures.... well you could try beating it with thick wit, basically just stop whinging and get on with it. If you are going to employ this method I would advise regular weekly training programme and just fall into a routine until the clocks go back again. I would also advise you to reward yourself every so often provided you fully complete the programme - that acts like a carrot! Another thing to do is take a week off get yourself straightened out and then get on with it. Practically you should get a daylight alarm clock (try the net rowing.co.uk) wear your morning training kit in bed so all you have to do is roll out, put on the shoes and off you go, train with a buddy so you cant let him down etc etc. Look we all get it winners get over it, losers succomb to it! I'll leave you with this thought. Imagine yourself lying in bed and all the good reasons why you should'nt train are piled high at the foot of the bed, now what is your sporting aim ?Put this aim just behind the pile of good reasons. If this aim is smaller than those reasons then you'll never see over them and will stay in bed and whinge. If the aim is bigger than the good reasons then you'll focus on the aim , ignore the reasons get up nd get bloody on with it!
  • OooooK, I know you have a valid point, but I would hardly put myself in the whinging category.



    I was more looking for advise on whether I should be thinking about extra supplements, or make sure I eat certain fruits, something just to keep illness away, boost energy and put the spring back in my step.
  • Hi Grant,



    I know how you are feeling. I am wide awake in the morning, but have been heading to bed about 8.30pm at night feeling knackered. Also been feeling pretty low since the daylight hours have dropped. I have actually fallen asleep twice on the sofa this week, so I am tired. I definately suffer from SAD each year and it isn't something you can just pull yourself out of.



    I get annoyed with people who call sufferers of SAD, (seasonal affective disorder) whingers. It is a recognised form of depression and is called by a lack of daylight. The lack of daylight encourages your body to produce melantonin, (hormone), which slows down the body clock and disrupts your sleep patterns. There has also been evidence to prove that sufferers of SAD produce less serotonin (a mood lifting chemical), in the winter.



    I take 'Busy B with C' tablets as they are supposed to perk you up a bit. You get them in Holland and Barratt.



    My advice to you would be not to get stressed about not being able to stick to training schedules in the winter. Train when you feel like it and enjoy it. Winter in the time for going for long slow rides/runs/swims to build up your aerobic base and work on technique for next season. Everyone should have a transition period at the end of the season when they do less hard stuff.



    If you pressure yourself, it will seem like a chore and may even put you off altogether. You will return to normal in the spring and can get going again then.



    Hope this helps?







  • bennybenny Posts: 1,314
    So, if I get it right, this is a thing caused by lack of daylight!? Maybe a silly suggestion; would some extra light, like (I dont know the exact translation in English) Sun Bench light help your body to calibrate the hormone-jojo?

    I work as a roof worker, so I see every minute of natural light there is in a winter day. I guess that's one of the job plus-points then.
  • Yes you can get a light box but not sure where from or how much. Maybe I should find out as it's pretty miserable feeling like this all the time in the winter. You are lucky working outside. I go to work in the dark and now it's dark when I get home too!



  • Thanks Sarah,



    Great advice, I will get those vitamins and see if they stop me whinging!!
  • BoycieBoycie Posts: 189
    I am not a SAD sufferer, but I would say look out the window this morning, it's beautiful. Seriously though I have a client who suffers from SAD and she bought some "natural light" light bulbs that are meant to mimic sunlight. She puts them in rooms where she is likely to be wearing less clothes ie bedroom, bathroom and she believes it works. It may be placebo or it may really work, but it's a cheap way to try it.



    David.
  • I agree with the last post, my wife suffers from the lack of sunlight at this time of year, so I bought her daylight bulb from www.androv.com it cost about a tenner and she's so happy with it, she's spreading the word with her friends and I've just ordered two more.



    Placebo or not, quite frankly I don't think it matters, it seems to have the desired effect and it keeps the wife happy and happy!
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