Easing Winter Depression: How To Make a Solution-Focused Routine

The science behind Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and how to use clinically-proven mushroom and plant therapeutics to reverse its effects — at its source.

Key Takeaways:

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If shorter days and shifts in weather zap your energy and make you feel blue, you’ve got classic symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) — a form of depression triggered by changes in daylight and weather that occur primarily in winter.

Why do some people get SAD? Experts aren't certain, but some factors that may come into play include:

• Your biological clock (circadian rhythm). The reduced level of sunlight in fall and winter may cause winter-onset SAD. This decrease in sunlight may disrupt your body's internal clock and lead to feelings of depression.
• Serotonin levels. A drop in serotonin, a brain chemical (neurotransmitter) that affects mood, might play a role in SAD. Reduced sunlight can cause a drop in serotonin that may trigger depression.
• Melatonin levels. The change in season can disrupt the balance of the body's level of melatonin, which plays a role in sleep patterns and mood.

Whatever the causes of one’s SAD may be, the signs and symptoms typically can include:

• Feeling listless, sad or down most of the day, nearly every day
• Low energy and feeling sluggish
• Losing interest in activities you once enjoyed
• Changes in appetite or weight gain
• Oversleeping
• Appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates
• Weight gain
• Difficulty concentrating

To help manage SAD, here are a few solutions-oriented options you might want to consider.

How to reset your biological clock.

If you have trouble waking up in the morning, and feel groggy, moody, and foggy when you do, we recommend adding Cordyceps to your morning routine.

Cordycepin, the gold-star bioactive compound in Cordyceps, resets your biological clock at the cellular level by influencing the transcription of clock genes. This helps restore your natural biological processes' internal clock to support energy, metabolism, mood, cognition, libido, sleep, recovery, and immunity.

How?

You see, circadian rhythms run on 24-hour cycles that are part of the body’s internal clock. While the sleep-wake cycle is one of the most prominent circadian rhythms, these 24-hour internal clocks play a vital role in virtually all systems of the body.

These circadian rhythms are connected to a master clock, sometimes referred to as the circadian pacemaker, located in the brain. Specifically, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the hypothalamus. At different times of the day, clock genes in the SCN send signals to regulate activity throughout the body.

Because the SCN is highly sensitive to light, which serves as a critical external cue, decreased sunlight during the winter can disrupt the timing of these processes.

Cordycepin binds with enzymes in your body that influence the transcription of clock genes. These genes are turned "on" and "off" as your body goes through its 24-hour cycles. Think of Cordycepin is the key that "unlocks" the ability to transcribe those genes. Once that happens, a new oscillation (or a cycle of 24 hours) begins.

The clock is reset.

Find it in Immune Stack and Energy Stack.

How to support healthy serotonin activity.

If you're moody, irritable, or depressed, you'll want to add CBD and Psilocybin to your routine. These hero ingredients are clinically studied to support healthy serotonin activity, a drop of which can lead to a number of mood-related issues, such as:

• anxiety
• depression
• low mood
• irritability and aggression
• impulsive behavior
• insomnia
• dementia
• cognitive decline

It also plays an important role in physiological functions, such as your:

• immune response
• bone development
• digestion
• cardiac function

Psilocybin and CBD are both studied to exert their mood-brightening effects by modulating serotonin activity in their own ways.

Microdosing Psilocybin is studied to both increase serotonin levels in the brain and activate serotonin receptors directly to support cognition, clarity, and mood. Our Brain Stack, Energy Stack, and Immune Stack have 25mg Psilocybe cubensis per capsule.

CBD doesn't raise serotonin levels. Instead, it's studied to improve mood by changing the way serotonin receptors interact with serotonin that's already in your system. By improving serotonin's bioactivity, it helps maintain healthy serotonin activity through the winter.

Discover our organic, full-spectrum CBD collection today.

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