Get out of the November blues!

Waking up tired, losing interest in your daily activities and in other people, anxiety,... There is no longer any doubt, we are in November! According to specialists and different polls, November is the worst month of the year. Why and how to get out of this temporary depression? (beyond waiting). We share our best secrets with you. 😉

This seasonal depression could be due to several causes. In November, we " celebrate " a lot of boring and sad holidays. The first one, the All Saints' Day (or Toussaint) when we celebrate dead people, then the Singles' Day, the World Pneumonia Day, the World Vasectomy Day, the World Day of the Poor... should I go on? Nothing to be really excited about, and this is just for the first half of the month. The Christmas good energy still seem very far from now, so does our good vibes.

Furthermore, to enjoy November, you'll have to like grey, and I heard that this colour is a little outdated anyway (#BeigeIsTheNewGrey). Indeed, November tends to begin and to end with rain and dark clouds. With the change from summer time to winter time, your cells miss light and it feels like all your body has shut down. The word November itself comes from " november mensis " which means " ninth month of the year ", nothing special about this, but if you refer to the revolutionary calendar, this period would correspond roughly to 22 October to 23 November, month associated to Brumaire, the aptly named: the month of mists! The mystery is solved.

If needed, strengthen your body and mind with magnesium, omega-3 and vitamins. In the Anglo-Saxon countries, like the British Isles, a vitamin D cure is systematically prescribed by the doctors every autumn. With our current lifestyle, we spent around 98% of our time indoors, generating a very significant lack of vitamin D for almost all the population. As a reminder, a lack of vitamin D causes stress, anxiety or depression. Scientists believe that vitamin D protects the neurons that synthesize dopamine and serotonin, two neurotransmitters, essential to the brain.

If you don't want to take a pill every day, you can find vitamin D outside. If it is already dark when you finish work, try to go outside during your lunch break. To get the minimum quantity of vitamin D, you should go out at least one hour a day in autumn and winter. Since we know that you may be missing time, the alternative is to get a light therapy with specific lamps, widely used in the Nordic countries for example. This type of treatment is effective for 60 to 70% of people suffering from seasonal disorder. Therefore, this kind of lamp is now easy to find (Boulanger, Darty, Saturn and sometimes supermarkets sell them.)

Why wait until January to take a good start? Give your body a break before Christmas celebrations and give it what it really needs: healthy food.

Priority to vitamins and minerals: fruits (citrus, banana, apple...), vegetables (including frozen ones), but also whole grains pasta or bread, sweet potatoes, fish, meat, lentils, chickpeas... will be giving you the kind of energy you need.

Indeed, it is now a fact that an abusive consumption of sugar leads to memory loss, heart and brain diseases and sometimes depression. Our tip: try to always have almonds or nuts in your office drawers (with no added sugar of course.)