I've found myself yawning and craving naps during the day, dragging myself to bed earlier, and sleeping much later in the mornings. I've been craving caffeine and sugar (and unfortunately indulging in it too) which in turn has been giving me stonking blood sugar highs and lows and exacerbated the napping issue. My energy levels have plummeted.
Over the years I've tried different things to fight off the winter but have come to accept it as a necessary time to rest and recharge. Don't get me wrong, I don't slump for months into a chocolate-fuelled fug of despair. Rather, I decided to improve what I can within limits and accept what I can't.
1) I've cut right back on the caffeine, from around 7-10 cups of tea with milk and two sugars, to two small cups of black coffee with no sugar, one early morning and one late afternoon. Monday and Tuesday I had shocking withdrawal symptoms, including migraines and nausea. I'm over the worst of it now but am very shocked at how bad I felt, so much so it is enough that I don't really want to drink tea anymore! Nothing like negative conditioning to put you off something.
2) Talking of negative conditioning, I've cut out the majority of sugar from my diet to try and prevent the highs and lows, and I did it with the help of an Allen Carr book called Good Sugar, Bad Sugar. Allen Carr is the guy that wrote THE book on giving up smoking easily and I hoped this book would be just as good. While I can't agree with some of his science, it has had the extraordinary effect of crushing my white sugar craving. I simply don't want it any more. I think the book uses Neuro-Linguistic Programming to reset your thinking. I'm pleased with how that has worked.
3) I've upped my level of B and D vitamins, opting to use a mouth spray rather pills, and opened the bedroom curtains at night to let more light in the next morning. I'm aiming to walk 40-45 minutes three times a week, and when I feel fit enough perhaps go back to jogging. I've also ordered some daylight bulbs for my hobby room lights, as I work in there during the day. What I've decided not to do is get a light box. While that would no doubt help, I don't want to force my body to believe it is still summer. Winter is a natural time of rest and I want to embrace that, but I just don't want my body to slow to an agonising crawl.
4) I have scheduled a few interesting things to see at the cinema. As we're saving for a break away together in January, going out to see plays and shows is a little beyond our budget, especially the ones in London, however, some big productions of the National Theatre are often broadcast through live satellite links to some cinema chains.
After a good trawl through the listings, we've settled on seeing these between now and the New Year:
Allelujah!(National Theatre Live play)
A Christmas Carol (Simon Callow)
These next ones are my treats only for me, as they are 3.5 hours of Shakespeare each and Martin doesn't do Ye Olde English.
I
wanted to see Ian McKellen as King Lear in London but at £250 a ticket it was out of the question. This ticket is a more affordable £19.60 and paid for courtesy of my next Ziffit order!
By the way, these are all on at a local Showcase cinema, of which Martin and I are loyalty card holders, so we can get a 10% discount.
5) Learn something new. Rather than just vegetating in front of the fire surfing the net, I have decided to find some online courses to do. If you've never come across them before, many universities and colleges offer free courses in all manner of subjects. They are called MOOCs - Massive Online Open Courses - and the following are a list of providers that bring together a vast number of both professional and personal interest courses.
Futurelearn
OpenLearn
Coursera
edX
Khan Academy
Some courses are available to access at any time, some are only available on certain dates. So far, I've found the following that appeal to me, although I don't really want to do too many at once. I've signed up for the first one
Literature of the English Country House
England in the Time of Richard III
Jane Austen: Myth, Reality and Global Celebrity
Hadrian's Wall: Life on the Roman Frontier
Introduction to Philosophy
Know thyself: the value and limits of self-knowledge
It is truly staggering how many free courses are out there. If you've never done one before, go and have a look at what is available.
I think this is the first time I've ever put together a plan to keep active in mind, body and spirit during the autumn and winter, and I'm more than a little bit excited about it!
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