Spring is a wonderful time of year: the days are getting longer, the sun is shining, and nature is showing its most beautiful side. Unfortunately, however, we are now tired more often than usual. While the warmer weather lures us outdoors, this is exactly the time you would rather pull the covers over your head again. When your body and soul give your drive a red card, it’s here: spring fatigue.
Symptoms of spring fatigue
When spring awakens every year in March, but we struggle to get out of bed, it’s back: the season of big yawns. Typical symptoms of this special spring drowsiness are:
a) leaden fatigue b) heavy limbs c) irritability d) dizziness e) circulatory problems d) dejection
These are the symptoms of a problem of modern civilization. In Germany alone, more than half of the population is affected by spring fatigue.
Spring fatigue studied scientifically
Anyone who thinks that a strong coffee in the morning will quickly solve the problem is unfortunately mistaken. This is because the body must slowly adjust its rhythm. But where does the sudden lack of motivation come from? Is it due to the long winter months when we barely moved? The light conditions and the change from dark to light? And to what extent does the change to daylight saving time play a role? Scientists have studied the phenomenon and researched its causes. Even if not all questions have been definitively answered, there are a few quite plausible explanations that are also the key to combating spring fatigue and its symptoms.Temperature fluctuations in spring
A very important factor that has a strong influence on your well-being in spring is fluctuating temperatures. Everything from beautiful early summer days to sudden freezing temperatures can happen within a very short time in March and April. Just as your skin receptors register cold, intense sunshine and heat follow. Higher outdoor temperatures cause blood vessels to dilate, and blood pressure drops very quickly. As a counter-reaction, your body produces more red blood cells to ensure that your cells are supplied with sufficient oxygen despite falling blood pressure. If the adjustment does not happen quickly enough, dizziness and fatigue are the result, and you feel sluggish.
Hormones and light
When spring arrives, the joy is often dampened by constant circulatory problems accompanied by malaise or headaches. This also has to do with the amount and intensity of daylight and its direct influence on your hormonal system. Like your blood pressure and body temperature, it is regulated by your day-night rhythm. In the colder months, the sun shines for shorter periods and less intensely. This has a direct effect on the hormone balance. More melatonin is produced, the hormone for restful sleep. However, if it remains in the blood longer than necessary, you feel tired and listless all day.
Lack of happiness hormones
At the same time, a long cold season depletes serotonin stores, so that the melatonin-serotonin balance becomes uneven. You are still half in hibernation mode and feel correspondingly dull and sleepy. Scientists at Georgetown University in Washington confirmed: Low serotonin and dopamine levels are one of the main causes of spring fatigue.
Lack of exercise in spring
As cozy as it was in winter, snuggled up on the sofa with a blanket, it is now just as important to pull yourself together, go outside, and move. After long months without sports and exercise, your circulation needs to be kickstarted. This is the only way to ensure our internal organs are supplied with sufficient oxygen. In addition, exercise releases important happiness hormones that give us back our energy and drive.
Jet lag from daylight saving time
It is officially daylight saving time again, but for most, only on their wristwatch. Our "internal" clock is lagging behind. The switch from standard time to daylight saving time on the last weekend of March poses an additional challenge for our biorhythm. Even if we are only missing 60 minutes, your body reacts as if it has a slight jet lag, which can drag on for weeks. At this point, taking additional melatonin can be useful.
Vitamin deficiency in spring
It started with Christmas cookies, continued with the Christmas roast, plus plenty of fatty and sweet foods in front of the TV after work. The cold and dark winter months tempted us to eat too much, and too much that was sweet and fatty. Fruit and vegetables may have appeared on your plate less frequently during this time. Fat and sugar give the body quick energy and trick us into a feeling of warmth and comfort. Your body now needs more healthy fiber and, above all, vitamins and minerals to boost your metabolism.
• Would you like to learn more about melatonin? Read on here. • Interested in products that provide you with more energy and performance? You will find what you are looking for here.
