The Glass Is Half Empty Today
October is the time of year in the UK when the inevitable arrival of winter becomes more and more real. Some of us leave when it is dark in the morning and return home in the dark too. We get significantly less daylight than at any other time of year.
Working with so many different people that I see each week, its a very interesting observation for me to see how everyone's mood changes from season to season. None more interesting than the shift towards winter. The work and school routine are in full throttle, people are working more, sleeping less and the run up to the social Christmas calendar begins with more alcohol being consumed. This is the same for me too, so I totally get it.
A big game changer for me a year or so ago was being able to catch myself when I was in a bad mood. Particularly in my early 20's, I had very big ups and downs. My mood would change drastically from day to day. This became increasingly unhealthy and I found it very hard to stay focused on my job of helping people. I would ask myself "How can I teach people all this stuff about health and well-being when I can't even do it myself?!" What a hypocrite, pretending to be happy and perfect all the time when the reality was very different.
It wasn't until after consulting with a very well known name in the fitness industry who had 20 years experience that the penny dropped. I lay my cards out on the table and told him honestly how it really was. I had though about quitting the fitness industry and doing something else many times and found my mood varied way to much... He smiled at me and said, "Yeah, been there, got the tee shirt, I know exactly what you feel". He then told me some of his story and I felt so much better hearing he felt exactly the same way.
One of the big takeaways from that consult was being able to ask 2 very simple questions that would reverse my bad mood 90% of the time. I would like to add that in addition to reverse my bad mood, I was able to catch myself as to why that as an embrace it.
Questions 1
Did you get a good nights sleep last night? (As in 8-9 hour uninterrupted deep sleep)
Question 2
What time did I last eat today and was it healthy?
Insights for Question 1
Sleep is one of the most underrated cures for many things. If I ever had a bad nights sleep it would effect many things for me the next day.
I would wake up groggy, tired and depleted. I would probably miss or have an unsubstantial breakfast, I would have no energy for training so miss it, crave sweet sugary things like haagen-daaz around 3-4 pm and I would hammer the coffee's all day to keep my energy levels up.
I would also have a mental backlog from the day before that my brain had not processed whilst I slept. This led me to feel sluggish, like I had too much to do and that I could't keep up, which would eventually lead to me procrastinating on menial tasks.
This would then have a knock on effect for the next day as my body would recover from the events of yesterday. It was an easy habit to get into which made my mood worse.
Once I caught myself having negative thoughts asking myself how I slept last night actually allowed me to identify and just accept the reality. I knew the feeling was just temporary and actually as long as I slept well that night I would be back to normal the next day. I know my 6am/7am clients have seen how bouncy I am if I have slept a good 8-9 hours the night before. I can't stop raving about it.
Prioritizing sleep is probably the most powerful and easy to do of the two questions.
For some tips on how to sleep better try reading the link here.
Insights for Question 2
For some people, they go through the day eating maybe one or two meals with a 4-6 hour gap between meals. Coffee and adrenaline get them through the rest of the day. They work hard and play hard and sheer determination and charisma get them through most situations. Insulin resistance, diabetes and mood swings usually follow after just a few years of this cycle.
The food we eat can actually determine how we feel and what we eat. For some, a high fat high protein diet can make them feel very mentally sharp and aggressive. I have heard other people having porridge before bed and it making them happy and sleepy. Some clients have told me they get extremely irritable when they miss breakfast or go long periods without food. Coffee even made on person very emotional and reflective. (I have found out from investigating this that a coffee is the most heavily sprayed product in the world and the chemicals cause these type reactions).
If you are in a foul mood, ask yourself when did you last eat? If it was over 3 hours ago there is a good chance your blood sugar levels are low which causes cravings, a sugary pick me up and irritability with other people.
Also bear in mind that if your food was heavily processed there is a good chance that the chemicals will be wreaking havoc with your hormones and thought processes. I believe that 80% or more of our serotonin production (happy hormone) is produced in the digestive system. If the gut is unhappy and being swamped by additional chemicals it will be sending your brain all sorts of messages.
A seminar I attended with DR Bryan Walsh taught me that certain parasites in the gut manipulate your brain to get you to eat more sugary foods as they thrive off them to survive.
What to do next
So If you catch yourself in a bad mood in the next week or two ask yourself. How did I sleep last night? What time did I last eat and was it healthy?
If either of these is not well, more than 3 hours ago and not that healthily then we may have found your culprit. Thankfully these things are 100% in your control. You can prioritize getting to bed earlier, and you can actually go out of your way to buy a healthier option.
If you are really down in the dumps try sleeping 8-9 hours 3 days in a row and let me know how you feel then. I am sure it will be at least 50% better than you feel now.
One last thing I would like to add, is that sometimes we will be in a bad mood for no reason whatsoever... and that is ok we just need to embrace it.
Things like a lack of sunlight, emotional or relationship stress can cause bad moods. Even after some great success we have a post adrenaline depression that makes us feel low. If this is the case hang in there, it is only temporary. Walking in nature and light exercise will help these things too.
Yours in Health
Patrick Fallis