March is here, meaning that the official start of Spring is just a few weeks away. With the new season, many of us are ushering in new beginnings, personal growth, and rejuvenation. Spring is an excellent time to focus on improving your mental health, battling depression and anxiety, and resetting your habits and routines to promote overall wellness.
Do Seasons Impact Your Mood?
You have probably heard of the “winter blues,” also known as seasonal depression or seasonal affective disorder (SAD). And maybe you’ve experienced for yourself the positive changes in your mood come summer, when days are longer and the sun is shining. In short, seasons can impact our moods. Let’s take a look at how the coming springtime can have a positive effect on how you are feeling.
In the spring, natural phenomena create subtle changes in our environment that can have a mood-boosting effect. First and foremost, the Earth’s axis tilts toward the sun, meaning that you’ll experience longer days and shorter nights. Daylight saving time adds to this effect – the sun may rise a bit later and we may lose an hour of sleep, but longer hours of daylight into the evening is a worthwhile trade for many people.
Initially, the disruptions to your circadian rhythm caused by daylight saving time can lead to sleep difficulties. Ultimately, however, the shift in daylight hours leads many people to spend more time outdoors and get more Vitamin D from exposure to sunlight.
Increased time outside and more hours in the sun can also help boost serotonin levels. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter (a chemical in your brain) that affects your mood. In the spring, manye individuals see higher levels of serotonin and a more elevated mood that is associated with this chemical.
Other natural phenomena that can bring people joy in the springtime include blooming flowers, melting snow, green leaves and buds appearing on trees, and animals coming out of hibernation. The migratory patterns of birds are also affected by the seasons, so you’ll probably start to hear cardinals, blue jays, and orioles chirping outside your window.
Wellness Tips to Reset Your Habits This Spring
If you’re looking for wellness advice and mental wellness tips, you’re in the right place. At Triumph Behavioral Health, we are a team of the best therapists in Maryland who are focused on working closely with our clients to develop holistic treatment plans. We are committed to inclusivity, and we are here to listen to each individual’s unique story and circumstances. To put it briefly: At Triumph, we care.
Today, we’re sharing some wellness tips for spring. These daily wellness tips can be used to make small changes that add up over time, impacting your mental health for the better. Let’s dive into these natural wellness tips that are easy to implement but can have a big impact!
Embrace the Outdoors
Spring is the perfect occasion to spend some extra time in nature. Whether you enjoy walking your dog, hiking at a local park or state forest, or gardening in your backyard, take every opportunity you can to soak up some sunlight. Exposure to sunlight is proven to improve your mental health by boosting key neurotransmitters, like serotonin and dopamine.
Double Down on Creativity
Setting goals is important for your mental health, but finding creative outlets is also important for your wellbeing. This spring, consider trying out a new creative hobby. You might like going through old pictures and creating a scrapbook, taking a painting class at your local community college, or simply sketching a favorite landscape. Psychology Today reports that creative pursuits can help decrease stress, improve cognitive flexibility, and increase your sense of wellbeing. Plus, you get to create something beautiful. That sounds like a win-win to us!
Make Sleep Your Top Priority
It’s easy to let sleep fall to the wayside in your busy life. You might be dealing with an unpredictable work schedule, young children, or chronic health concerns that routinely disrupt your sleep. But it’s important to remember that sleep is one of the top predictors of mental health. When we don’t get enough sleep, it’s simply impossible to function as our best selves. Our productivity, happiness, and health will suffer. With that in mind, we challenge you to reprioritize sleep this Spring – even if that just means going to bed 30 minutes earlier or staying off your phone for the hour before bedtime.
Clean and Revitalize Your Physical Spaces
You’ve probably heard the phrase “spring cleaning.” Spring is the perfect time to refresh your physical spaces. Whether that means decluttering your home office, deep cleaning your refrigerator, or participating in a local effort to pick up litter in your neighborhood, cleaning can help put your mind at ease. When you are living and/or working in a clean and tidy space, you are likely to feel more mentally relaxed and at ease. Spring is the perfect time for this reset!
Seek Help When You Need It
The season of rebirth and personal development is the perfect time to invest in your mental health. If you are struggling with your behavioral health or dealing with issues like PTSD, postpartum depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or others, our team at Triumph can help. We’ll be with you every step of the way on your individualizerd health journey. From the initial diagnosis to prescribing medication and ongoing med management, we can help you live a more fulfilling and rewarding life where your mental health concerns fade into the background. This Spring, see all of the potential in your life when you seek help from a qualified behavioral health professional like any of the practitioners on our Triumph team.
Make the Most of Springtime Energy With Triumph
If you’re ready to take control of your life and your mental health this Spring, we are here to help. At Triumph Behavioral Health, we serve clients in the greater Baltimore area, including Towson, Linthicum Heights, Arbutus, and Catonsville. You can even get a same week therapy appointmen to start your journey ASAP!
Reach out to us today, and let’s take on your wellness together.