Change of season stress


The change of seasons often brings a number of side effects due to stress and tiredness. Both when the temperature increases and there is more daylight, and when the cold starts to creep beneath our clothes and the darkness drastically reduces the amount of time we can spend outdoors, these changes can significantly affect our body.

It is not unusual to feel irritable and tired as we adapt to the new temperatures, habits and rhythms. These are passing, natural and physiological conditions, but if neglected they can affect our physical and mental well-being, even compromising our quality of life and limiting the energy we have available during the day.

Symptoms of stress from change of seasons: how to recognise them

It is not just particular fatigue that acts as an alarm bell for stress from change of seasons. Other symptoms, while only transitory and not dangerous, can interfere with the management of our daily tasks.

Here are some of the most common symptoms underlying the stress from change of seasons:

  • Insomnia or excessive sleepiness
  • Migraine
  • Irritability
  • Fatigue
  • Lack of appetite or nervous eating
  • Weakening of the immune system

As explained, these are all short-term side effects. However, they can be combated and relieved in order to better cope with the transition from the warm to cold season, or vice versa.

How to combat stress from change of seasons

Let’s start by underlining, once again, that the best ally for fighting all the symptoms of the change of seasons is a healthy lifestyle, with regular physical activity and a balanced diet.

Practising physical activities regularly, even for just 15 minutes a day, helps to improve the production of energy by the body, stimulating the metabolism and mood and improving sleep quality.

At the same time, a diet rich in both fresh fruit and nuts, vegetables, whole wheat cereals and lean meat is the first step to positively affect the body and reduce physical and mental fatigue.

In particular, group B vitamins and vitamin C are effective in coping with the symptoms of the change of seasons, without forgetting the benefits of iron, magnesium, vitamin D, arginine and carnitine.

Which foods are rich in these precious substances? Here are some that are readily available in supermarkets and easy to include in your usual diet:

Vitamin B

  • Whole wheat cereals (bread, pasta, rice, flour and breakfast cereals)
  • Yeast
  • Pork
  • Legumes
  • Nuts
  • Milk and milk by-products
  • Eggs
  • Green leaf vegetables
  • Liver

For example, a simple and complete meal for ensuring a rich quantity of vitamin B without having to work too hard in the kitchen is a salad with lettuce or spinach, boiled eggs, beans or pumpkin seeds, with whole wheat bread croutons. Extra-virgin olive oil is also the ideal condiment to combat stress and low levels of vitality, as it is rich in antioxidant properties.

Vitamin C

  • Citrus fruits (orange, mandarin, grapefruit, lime, lemon)
  • Kiwi
  • Grapes
  • Redcurrants
  • Papaya
  • Pineapple
  • Strawberries
  • Melon
  • Mango
  • Raspberries
  • Blueberries
  • Peppers

Substantially, fruit is rich in vitamin C and, as all nutritionists advise, it must be included in a healthy, balanced diet.

Iron

  • Liver
  • Meat, particularly turkey
  • Fish
  • Clams and shellfish
  • Egg yolk
  • Legumes
  • Dry mushrooms
  • Nuts
  • Whole wheat cereals
  • Dark green leaf vegetables

Magnesium

  • Almonds
  • Cashews
  • Peanuts
  • Hazelnuts
  • Pistachio nuts
  • Walnuts
  • Dry chick peas
  • Sweetcorn
  • Lentils
  • Cooked chard
  • Cooked spinach
  • Artichokes
  • Courgettes
  • Cauliflower
  • Broccoli
  • Potatoes
  • Fennel
  • Peppers
  • Carrots
  • Tomatoes
  • Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Nuts are therefore the best source of magnesium available through food. The trick is to consume them more often, perhaps adding to a salad: in addition to the nutritional benefits, this will also make it more tasty and appetising.

Vitamin D

  • Cod liver oil
  • Oily fish, particularly mackerel, herring, tuna and salmon
  • Oysters and prawns
  • Fatty cheese
  • Butter
  • Egg yolk
  • Mushrooms

Mushrooms are therefore the only vegetable source of vitamin D and should never be left out of a varied diet, particularly if fresh and not in oil. The best way to increase the absorption of vitamin D in any case is in the sunlight. Just a few minutes walk outdoors every day can meet the daily requirement.

Arginine

  • Poultry
  • Bresaola
  • Tuna fish
  • Mackerel
  • Sardines
  • Cod
  • Sole
  • Peanuts
  • Pistachio nuts
  • Cashews
  • Hazelnuts
  • Walnuts
  • Legumes

Carnitine

  • Mutton, lamb, beef, pork, rabbit
  • Cheese
  • Fish

H2: Supplements in sachets to fight the symptoms of the change of seasons

If your diet, sports and, generally, your balanced lifestyle are not sufficient for coping easily with the change of seasons, it is possible to make recourse to complete nutritional supplements.

ApportAL® (link) contains a combination of vitamins and minerals suited to helping the normal functioning of the body and the immune system, and is a valid support against tiredness and fatigue.

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