Autumn Support Strategies from Dr. Wojtak
‘Tis the season of spending weekends outdoors hunting and hiking, eating sugary treats, and spending lots of time around family and friends – all of which might leave you feeling exhausted. You might find yourself dreading having to go to work on Monday after a full weekend of seasonal activities, or at the end of a 40-hour work week finding the thought of more socializing overwhelming. Don’t worry, we’ve all been there!
While this time of year might be overwhelming, it’s important to remember that there are ways to support our bodies as they carry us through this season.
Ways to support your mind and body:
Take a break: say no to the group activities that don’t fill your bucket, take some time off from work. Allow yourself some time to rest and recharge. Making sure you’re keeping to your regular sleep cycle as much as possible will also ensure that the rest (sleep) you’re taking is the most supportive for your body.
Supportive nutrition: there’s a reason this is soup season! Soups are a great way to give your body nutrients it needs in a simple and easy to digest form. Drinking warm drinks, like tea, can also support digestion. They also help keep us warm while it gets chillier outside!
Early morning sunlight: Especially with the time change, spending time outside in the early morning, when the sun is first coming up or even just after it’s risen, is a great way to reset your circadian rhythm. It’s supportive for energy, mood, stress and sleep throughout the rest of the day too! If you have to get up and go before the sun comes up, a light-therapy (or “happy lamp”) can provide some of that same stimulation for you as natural sunlight.
Vitamin B12 injections: Sparrow now offers vitamin B12 injections, which are supportive of mood, energy, stress response and the immune system. Because of the way it’s digested and absorbed, and the fact that B vitamins are water-soluble, we often don’t have enough available in our body during times of increased need. It can be supportive for the body to have an injection into the muscle, where it releases into the bloodstream more gradually, and can provide support for longer.
Constitutional Hydrotherapy: This treatment a great option for patients who are getting over illness, feeling run down or burnt out, or feeling over-worked and overwhelmed. It is a simple and effective treatment that combines the use of alternating hot and cold towels applied to the front and the back of the torso. This use of water at various temperatures helps to create a therapeutic effect on the body and stimulates the body’s own healing force.
Make sure to listen to your body during this season of change! There’s many different ways to support your body, and each body needs something different.
