Spring Fatigue?
And what to do about it

Spring Fatigue?

The world is waking up from the winter, the sun is shining and the flowers are starting to blossom. But instead of being full of energy you feel tired and sleepy. What is going on?

Springtime lethargy or spring fatigue is not any medical term, but there are few reasons why you might feel exhausted just before the springtime.

Any changes to our lives or to our environment can cause stress to our system.

Longer days / shorter nights

Yes, I am looking forward to longer days and I am sure you too, but our bodies need time to adjust to that change.

In winter your body secretes high levels of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles.

With the spring the amount of daylight increases and our retina (the light-sensitive tissue in the eye) register a change of the light and signals the pineal gland located in the brain to stop producing so much melatonin.

Lower levels of melatonin can cause change to our sleeping pattern, at least at the beginning.

And as you already know with the change to one hormone the other hormones will also have to adjust a bit and this can be tiring to our endocrine system

Adjustment to Daylight Saving Time

In many parts of the world, we will shift the clocks one hour ahead in spring time. The time moving forward means less sleep the first night, more darkness in the morning than we are used to, and for many of us disturbed sleep patterns for a week or even more.

It doesn’t sound great knowing that good quality sleep helps to balance out hormones and blood sugar levels, plus it is the best anti-aging solution ever.

So, take care of your routine

What can you do? There are some small things you can adjust:

Spend some time outside the natural light.
Stay active during the daytime.
Get some physical activity in the morning to help wake you up.
Do something relaxing in the evening.

Natural light will regulate your melatonin levels and vitamin D3 production. Exercise will keep your mood levels up and you will sleep better at night. Relaxing in the evening will help you to wind out the stress accumulated during the day.

The most important thing is to create a routine that will suit you and that will make you feel better. Remember small things can bring a big difference to how you feel.