AS the Christmas memories fade, all we are left with is a hammered bank account, a bulge around the waist, gloomy weather and a return to work after weeks of partying.
These factors all come together in a perfect storm for a single day believed to be the most depressing of the year, which has been dubbed "Blue Monday".
The concept of "Blue Monday" was originally coined in 2004 by psychologist Cliff Arnall.
He came up with a "formula" to calculate how sad or depressed one can be by taking into consideration different factors likely to contribute to low mood:
W = weather (usually pretty grim)
D = debt (usually higher than normal)
d = monthly salary (most likely gone, considering the last salary you received was before Christmas)
T = time since Christmas
Q = time since failing our new year's resolutions (this can vary from person to person, but the general rule of thumb is that NY res tend to fail two weeks after New Year's Day)
M = low motivation levels (due to all the above factors)
Na = the feeling of a need to take action
Whether this formula has anything to do with science matters little. It is pretty clear that summing all the factors in the formula would lead most people to one of the most dangerous feelings one can experience: feeling overwhelmed.
Why feeling overwhelmed is a cause of stress?
When a person feels overwhelmed, it can mean several things, but usually, they imply that they are temporarily unable to think clearly due to their emotional feelings making them experience too much distraction.
Feeling overwhelmed, in most cases, results in "feeling the need to take action," but being unable to do so because of a vortex of emotions that spin without control.
There is no real science stating when exactly a person starts to feel overwhelmed, but it is believed that, whenever we experience seven or more negative thoughts altogether, we get to a state where the feelings we experience makes us unable to take action (aka we feel overwhelmed).
These feelings, in turn, activate a stress response within the body that results in a "fight or flight" response. The body releases hormones such as Cortisol and Adrenaline, which induce an increase in heart rate and alertness. This phenomenon is what we usually call stress.
What is stress?
There's no medical definition of stress, and health care professionals often disagree over whether stress is the cause of problems or the result of them.
Stress affects us in a number of ways, both physically and emotionally, and in varying intensities. During my career, I've helped many people that had an extremely demanding lifestyle (mainly due to their job) to manage and reduce stress. Over the years, I've learned that December and January are the most stressful months of the year for most people working at a corporate job, peaking around the second or third week of Jan (exactly around Blue Monday).
The core of my practice is to help busy people feel good (both physically and mentally), and managing stress is often the most important component of every program I write. That's why I came up with a set of practices that, when done consistently, can help you stop feeling overwhelmed and keep your stress levels under control.
If this 2020 you want to be healthier, more productive, and less stressed, I suggest you try at least a few of them.
1- Manage your blood sugar levels in the morning
To win your morning is key when you want to reduce stress, especially on a cold and grey Monday. You might think that having a "good breakfast" would be the smart thing to do, but maybe your "sweet and energetic breakfast" is actually causing you more stress.
When we ingest foods or drinks that contain sugars (like yogurt, milk, fruit, or breakfast cereals) or high glycemic carbohydrates (like white rice, bread, or potatoes), we quickly experience a burst in energy. This is due to our blood sugar levels rising. When this happens, our pancreas produces the hormone insulin, which, in turn, lowers blood sugar levels by storing the nutrients we have in our bloodstream either in our fat cells, muscles, or liver. This process causes an "up and down" in our energy levels and, also, when the blood sugar levels become low, we experience hunger and cravings.
These ups and downs in blood sugar have been linked to an increase in stress. It's easy to see that, when we are having a stressful day, being all of a sudden tired and hungry won't really make our stress levels go away. Quite the opposite, in fact, fatigue, and eating disorders are clear symptoms of stress.
In the book "12 Rules For Life," Dr. Jordan B. Peterson explains how, when treating patients suffering from stress and depression, he always prescribes them to swap their breakfasts and lunches with low carb options like eggs, meat or fish. Dr. Peterson says that this little trick is often as effective as prescription drugs. In fact, most patients won't need any prescription drugs and simply get better because they have stabilized their blood sugar levels throughout the most stressful part of the day.
If you are used to having a high-carb breakfast like yogurt, cereals, Caffe-lattes, or fruit smoothies, try to swap them with scrambled eggs, bacon, cheese, or sliced meat. You can do the same for your lunch by having meat or fish with some vegetables.
Another way of doing this would be to follow "the Bulletproof Diet" system by Dave Asprey. The New York Times bestselling author suggests you replace your breakfast with a blend of coffee, grass-fed butter, and MCT oils. By doing this, you will not only stabilize your blood sugars but also improve mental performance and fat loss.
These little hacks can allow you to have a more stable level of energy throughout the working day and also give you a feeling of satiety. Not thinking about food or starting your next diet will surely help you feel less overwhelmed and reduce your stress levels.
2- "Hack and track" your sleep with technology.
We all know that sleep is paramount when it comes to managing stress. What you might not know is that each individual may benefit from sleeping and waking up at different times.
In the book Why We Sleep Dr. Matthew Walkers observes that some individuals benefit from a regular sleeping pattern (the typical 10 pm to 6 am) while other individuals have a better quality of sleep when they can go to bed late at night and wake up late in the morning ( 1-2 am to 10 am). This phenomenon is due to the body's tendency to follow the circadian rhythms (basically our natural clock that is affected by the movement of the Earth).
Dr. Walkers noticed that, when the latter group of people had a typical 9-5 job, they were much more prone to stress, and they were also more likely to develop conditions like depression and neurodegenerative diseases.
If you are a fan of early mornings, waking up as early as 5 am and going to bed as early as 9 pm is probably a good thing for your health and will definitely help you feel less overwhelmed, since you will have some extra time in the morning to either exercise or to get ahead with your to-do list.
If you are a nocturnal animal and you struggle to get to bed before midnight, you should try to get at least three lay-ins (when you wake up later than 9 am) each week. This could be done by taking some late shifts at work and not booking early activities during the weekend.
A cool gadget you can use to track your sleep is the Oura ring. This little device actually tracks the quality of your sleep, and it gives you a very accurate insight on how high are your stress levels are (by calculating your heart rate variability).
If you suffer from insomnia, you can try the app Calm where you can listen to bedtime stories (red by famous actors like Matthew McConaughey) and gently fall asleep.
3- Try Meditation.
Today, meditation is celebrated as a therapeutic tool to ease stress, anxiety, depression, and addictions. In the past years, it has also become recognized to improve mental performance, and it consequently became a multi-billion dollar business.
There is no doubt that meditation can help you feel less overwhelmed because the core of each meditation practice is to "let go of thoughts."
A typical meditation session involves you sitting on a chair or cross-legged on the floor with eyes closed. Once you assume a comfortable position and focus on your breath, you should start noticing your thoughts. At this point, according to what type of technique you're using, you will try to let those thoughts go away by focusing on something else (this could be your breath or a mental image you created).
Following a 20-minute guided meditation, when you're feeling overwhelmed, can help you declutter your head and feel much calmer and in control.
Unfortunately, meditating for more than ten minutes is extremely tough for most. Many people that try meditation get discouraged by the fact that "they can't stop thinking." That's when apps that allow you to listen to a guided meditation (like Headspace) come in handy. You simply need to sit in a quiet room and play the daily meditation from the app.
Conclusion: Don't let Blue Monday get to you this year! Be smart, and take care of your stress levels before it's too late.