That's Fit

When my body isn't moving so much, my mind goes to a bit of a blue place. I'm not quite there, but I feel myself getting close. Ironically, this week my body has traveled thousands of miles and I've seen my favorite blue place in the world -- the Pacific Ocean.

As most of us know, traveling usually means our health suffers a bit due to lack of exercise, increased stress and the subsequent effect on our mental state of both. I travel from my home in the mid-Atlantic to my native California at least twice a year. I am writing from my mother's home in the Los Angeles area right now. Before heading home a week from tomorrow, we will have traveled by air and navigated airports for more than 12 hours and spent almost 20 hours in cars in order to visit family and friends on opposite ends of the state. So much movement, so little exercise.

Thankfully, visiting the loved ones we live so far away from keeps my mind a bit happier during these sedentary vacation days. And I do try to adhere to some of the common tips for maintaining good health and fitness while traveling, such as making good food choices and drinking lots of water. I also follow certain prevention guidelines.

When I get home, I'll run through the neighborhood, hop on my bike or swim laps at the rec center in an effort to kick those endorphins back into high gear and then some. I'll certainly have to in order to heal the little bit of homesickness and heartsickness that's sure to crop up after leaving so many loved ones behind.

I don't always feel like exercising when I'm down in the dumps. But I know it's good for me and whenever I force myself into physical activity, I always cheer up. I usually turn to running when I want to banish my blues. But according to a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, mopping my floor may be enough to boost my mood.

As little as 20 minutes a week of any sort of physical activity can help alleviate psychological distress, say researchers from University College London. While vigorous activity has the most effect, you can still enjoy an emotional lift with minimal effort. Clean the house, work in the garden, or walk around the block, and you could enjoy a 41% lower risk of feeling blah.

Personally, I subscribe to a pretty active fitness routine for overall health and happiness, but it's good to know I can bust out of my bad mood with a little light housecleaning.

I don't recommend the sort of happy meal you'd find at McDonald's and other fast food joints. But I do suggest you try some of the happy foods Redbook magazine features in its June 2008 issue. For the whole run-down -- there are 15 of them in all -- head on over to this site. For a little taste, keep on reading this post.

First, let me tell you why these foods are considered "happy." It's because they do more than fuel the body -- they help fight stress, fatigue, even the blues. They make us feel good. They make us feel, well, happy. And here they are.

Oatmeal: Ever met a dieter who is angry and tense all the time? It's likely a lack of carbohydrates causing such irritation. We need carbs. Not doughnut carbs, but carbs rich in fiber so the body absorbs them slowly and allows serotonin to flow steadily. Oatmeal fits the bill. So do whole-wheat pasta and beans.

I know that exercise can improve my mood and it's one of the best stress management tools I have, but I can't say that scrubbing the bathtub has ever had me jumping for joy. But that's what the authors of a recent study were trying to determine -- just how much physical activity is necessary for better mental health. It doesn't take as much as you would think. Their study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, reveals that as little as 20 minutes of mild activity such as house cleaning can boost your mood. So get out that vacuum, polish the furniture, and chase away all the dust bunnies -- it's time to give your mental health a little spring cleaning.

I was glad to see that the study went on to say that, while mild activity was effective, greater mental health perks were realized with more intense and more frequent activity. I'm not a big fan of the articles and programs that tout cleaning house as physical activity. It's active, it's good for you, and everybody needs a clean house... but let's not fool ourselves. 20 minutes of vacuuming is not the same as 20 minutes of real exercise. So take it up a notch -- if 20 minutes of mild activity will boost your mood just imagine how great you'll feel when you exercise (for real) every day!

Me, I don't like winter all the much. I live in a cold climate, and the winter days are shorts and bitterly cold. I don't mind the first part of Winter, when holiday preperations take over and the anticipation of Christmas makes the season truly merry. But then January comes and I find myself bored, anxious, and a wee bit depressed. It's such a long, cold month, the holiday bills are coming in and there's nothing to look forward to, except it being over.

As Bethany told you previously, Health Day has some suggestions for how to avoid the Post-Holiday blues:, but here are some of my own:

• Do something new. Use this time to take up an activity like photography or yoga. Doing something new will make the after-season seem exciting.
  
• Take advantage of the down time. Chances are, there are several jobs around the house that need doing. Why not organize those holiday photos or cook up a bunch of healthy meals that you can freeze for later?
  
• Get together with friends. Chances are you were too busy to see each other around the holidays, right? So get together now -- it will give you something to look forward to.
• Spend some time alone. When I'm feeling blue, my favourite thing to do is curl up in my faovurite chair and read for hours on end. My second favourite thing is to go to a funny movie by myself. Being alone gives you chance to really relax and enjoy yourself.

How do you beat the blues?

As the mercury in the thermometer drops and the last few leaves fall off the trees, many of us will be feeling a bit blue. But are we suffering from a standard case of the blues, or is it a sign of something bigger like Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)? According to AOL Body, here are the signs that it might be SAD:

• You crave comfort foods, especially carbs, and may even gain weight as a result
• You mood is distinctly worse during the winter -- but you perk up as soon as summer shows up again
• You're depressed throughout the day -- no just as certain times like mid-afternoon.
  
• You're depressed despite the absence of any sort of traumatic recent event that would cause it.
  
• You feel drowsy all day long, and can't seem to get enough sleep.

If you think you might have SAD, talk to your doctor. There are natural ways to treat the condition.

Seasonal Affective Disorder, otherwise known as "SAD," is a legitimate and diagnosable form of depression that affects as much as 10 to 20 percent of the population every year. Shorter days and less exposure to natural light seem to be the culprits, especially as some cases have even been seen in patients who work long hours in windowless offices.

Unlike a diagnosis of major depression, SAD is not usually treated with medication. The FDA did recently approve the use of Wellbutrin XL for SAD, but phototherapy continues to be the most popular treatment -- with other methods like exercising, taking vacations to sunny locations, and meditating also being very effective.

Symptoms of SAD can be many things, but some of the most common include moodiness, decreased interest in social activities, irritability, and increased fatigue/sleep. The interesting thing? The seasons can affect people the opposite way too. Spring-summer hypomania (spring fever) is also a real condition characterized by increased energy, decreased appetite, and decreased sleep. But, obviously, nobody minds coming down with that one!