Has Cabin Fever Set In For You Yet?

   Around this time each year, the weight of winter seems to take effect on me.  The days are still short, it's too cold to be outside very long, and the majority of my day has me cooped up inside.  To make this worse, everyday I wake up to go to work before day breaks, and I go home from work after the sun has set, so the only sunlight I see is through the tinted glass windows from where I work or from my car.  If my situation sounds anything like yours, its not hard to understand why you may be feeling anxious or depressed around this time of year.  And with no real holiday's in sight after MLK day (Valentine's day does not count in my book), this definitely makes the winter seem that much longer.

   So how can we combat this yearly struggle of boredom and depression?  Should we run to our doctor and beg for a two month supply of Prozac?  Or maybe we should join our local tanning salon and bake for  20 minutes a couple times a week to get an extra does of UV rays we're so desperately missing. 

  Truth is, the best and simplest way to break out of our mid winter slump is to get off our couch and MOVE!  The fact is that many studies have concluded that regular exercise can improve your mood and lower your chances of feeling depressed.  WebMD explains that "when you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins. These endorphins interact with the receptors in your brain that reduce your perception of pain."  In addition that that, endorphins also trigger a positive feeling in the body, a feeling best related to "Runner's High" which is a feeling a euphoria some runner's feel after a long, intense run. 

  Now I know for a fact that whenever I complete an aggressive or difficult workout, I wouldn't exactly call what I feel "euphoric," but I do feel good.  And let's be honest, if working out felt THAT GOOD, a lot more people would be doing it on a regular basis.  So let's put that into some perspective. 

  The facts are that regular exercise have been proven to :

         1. Reduce Stress
         2. Ward off anxiety and feelings of depression
         3. Boost self-esteem
         4. Improve Sleep.

   That's all well and good and it's probably something that you've heard before.  And chance's are simply knowing these facts hasn't made you leave your couch and start exercising just yet.  But really, these are the reason I find working out a regular basis helps me improve my mood, and get through the dog days of winter:

       1. I Sweat!
  Challenging my body and sweating on a daily basis really helps me release some frustration I have built up throughout my day.  Because of that, I'm a more pleasant person to be around and I can better enjoy spending time with friends and family. 

      2.  It's MY TIME
   When I work out, I think of no one else but myself.  How much of your day is spent trying to please someone else or spent doing things that have to be done, but you don't necessarily like doing them?  My point is that if you don't MAKE time for yourself, who will?  Exercising is my time, and I spend it doing something I like.

    3. I MIX UP my exercise routine.
  My whole day is a routine.  For the most part, that's a good thing but it can get monotonous and boring after awhile.  My workout is anything but routine.  I'll lift weights one day, run outside go snowboarding another. Hell, I'll even enter into an occasional hula hooping contest with my niece.  I don't worry about what the standards experts say I must do, I do what I like, because I won't do it otherwise.

    4.  I know it's GOOD for me.
   Working out is a hobby that I know will be 99% good for me.  Other hobbies that are easily done in the winter like baking, gambling, and drinking will only leave me fat, drunk and poor.  When I'm exercising I know I'm improving myself and feeling better about myself in the process. 

   So defeat cabin fever today!  The only person that can pull you out of this mid winter slump is yourself.   Take control and don't let this winter end up like your last winter.