Spring in our heads – what does this season do to us?

Hormones regulate – including our mood

We have probably all come across melatonin and serotonin at least by name. But here's a little recap from biology class: melatonin is a sleep hormone, serotonin is a neurotransmitter, i.e. a messenger substance that has a mood-enhancing effect. And then testosterone comes into play, the male sex hormone is released in greater quantities in spring, which increases the desire for completely different activities than living room dance sessions. If you're now wondering what happens to the ladies: Mother (hormonal) nature unfortunately didn't give us such fun, but there are still enough studies that show that women also have an increased libido in spring. But let's be honest: do we really need studies to find out about this or do we trust our own experiences? Just saying...

But back to the point: Spring increases the desire for physical contact. In addition, the increased sunlight suppresses the sleep hormone melatonin, which really boosts our metabolism. The sun's rays also cause the neurotransmitter serotonin to be released in greater quantities, which can even trigger a real euphoria. The result of this wonderful interaction: we are more active, more energetic, feel better and develop an affinity for 80s dance music (or is it just me?).

4 tips for spring in your head

How does nutrition play a role in this?

From a holistic perspective, several studies have already shown that the brain and our digestive system are in close communication with one another. What we eat influences the bacterial landscape in our intestines, and these in turn influence what happens in our brain. This goes in one direction, but it also goes in the other direction; an interaction, in other words. When we are stressed, for example, this changes the bacteria in our digestive tract, which in turn affects our entire metabolism AND our brain. A simple example that we are probably all familiar with: we are stressed by exams, deadlines or general workload and we often feel like eating something sweet or something fatty, something that we use to reward ourselves for enduring the stress. Very dangerous! Because: sugar or fried foods have the exact opposite effect. We trick ourselves into believing that we are rewarding ourselves, while in fact we are exposing ourselves to stress and, in the long term, even depression and other negative phenomena.

Realistically, however, it is not really possible to completely remove stress from our lives. But we can change how we react to it with relatively simple means. A balanced diet is essential: lots of vegetables, legumes, fruit, only a few but whole grains, avoid sugar and other sweeteners as much as possible, replace bad fats with good ones, but in moderation - keyword nuts and olive oil. Fermented foods such as kimchi, miso or tempeh are also a great support for the microbiome in our digestive organs, as they are rich in probiotics. These mood-lifting nutritional tips also have a very positive effect on our skin! In our skin detox month in January 2021, we even tested this ourselves, because our meals mostly consisted of exactly the ingredients listed. You can find out what exactly we ate and how our skin and our mood improved as a result in the Podcasts .

As you can see, you could write a whole book on this topic. It is important to say that there is no one-size-fits-all nutritional trick that works the same for everyone. So feel free to seek advice, research and read up on the topic yourself. It helped me a lot to understand my own gut and to consciously eat happier!
If you are interested, please take a look at our interview with Dr. Sophia Wachner on the topic of nutrition and skin:

Take a look:

INFLUENCE OF OUR DIET ON OUR SKIN – INTERVIEW WITH DR. SOPHIA WACHNER

To the article

Sun / Daylight

We have already learned that the sun gets a lot of things going in our body. Endorphins are released, serotonin becomes more active, we feel relaxed and happier. But the sun is responsible for the production of a very essential substance: vitamin D. We are usually used to getting vitamins from our diet, such as vitamin C. But with vitamin D, the body produces it itself and needs sunlight to do so. So what exactly happens? The sun shines on our skin, where the cholesterol is converted into provitamin D. This hormone is then transported to the liver via the blood and stored there as vitamin D3 or passed on to other organs. A healthy liver is therefore a basic requirement for us to be able to produce this important vitamin naturally. All the more reason to rethink your own diet accordingly.
Because this vitamin does a lot for our body! It supports bone formation, which is of course particularly important for children, and plays a key role in our immune system. An adequate supply is therefore more relevant in the current pandemic than it has been for a long time. But the positive properties of this powerhouse vitamin do not stop there. It supports the health of mother and child during pregnancy and offers a certain preventive protection against colon and breast cancer in particular.

A lack of vitamin D is not only bad, it can also be damaging. Research has even shown that a lack of sunlight and therefore vitamin D promotes certain forms of depression. This is quite plausible when you look at the information up to this point.

With all this sun worship, I would also like to warn you about the risks. It is no secret and everyone here probably knows that the sun's rays can be very dangerous, as they can cause skin cancer if you are exposed to them for too long without protection. How long that is exactly is very individual and depends greatly on your own skin, so it could be 10 minutes, or even 20, or maybe even more. In general, it is recommended to go out in the sun for a few minutes three times a week with your arms, legs and face bare. If you want to know exactly whether enough vitamin D is getting into your body, you should have a blood test. No matter how weak or strong the pigmentation of your skin is: sunscreen should definitely be used after a few minutes of soaking up vitamin D, ideally before you notice the first slight redness. Then it is best to go into the shade and apply plenty of sunscreen, because yes, UV rays can reach you in the shade too!

The active lifestyle

I know, especially in winter, it's sometimes difficult to get out of bed, off the couch or back into real life in general, but that's exactly the crux of the matter: exercise. In 2020, walking became a popular sport and, at least from what I've observed, it held up pretty well in the top 3 lockdown activities - even in winter! I think we were all at the point where we couldn't stand the sight of banana bread anymore, neither on our Instagram feed nor in our own kitchens.
But now that I have taken a closer look at what spring does to our bodies and how it affects our minds, I am firmly convinced that walking (or even jogging for the ambitious) in the fresh air was the glue that somehow held together the thread that held our mental fitness together. Or what do you think? Just go outside, see something other than your own four walls, ideally enjoy nature or the urban architecture, get your joints moving, get your circulation going and so on and so forth.

Of course, now in spring, especially when the sun is shining and we're already scratching the 25 degree mark in March, it's not so difficult for us to move around and lead a more active life. Let's try to keep up this motivation, because there are bound to be days when the cloudy sky gets in our heads, we count the raindrops on the window panes and debate with ourselves whether we should get up to go to the toilet or just wait a few more minutes (I know I'm not alone in this). So, even if it's difficult: let's keep moving, whatever the season!

Take a sniff of spring

The eyes slowly get used to the bright colors that are gradually appearing in meadows, flowerbeds and public spaces in the form of spring plants. But nature appeals to more than just the sense of sight. The sense of smell is just as happy! "Spring is in the air", who hasn't heard this phrase? The fresh, flowery and fragrant smells cheer us up and ensure that we can breathe deeply again. So bring them into the apartment. This can be done with fresh flowers and air, air, air!

This tip may not be particularly suitable for allergy sufferers. Anyone who is more likely to suffer from blocked noses, watery eyes, and shortness of breath at this time of year needs to be careful. The following applies: Depending on which pollen is critical, or whether you live in the city or the country, there are different times when it is best to open the windows. Pollen levels are higher in urban areas in the evenings, and in the countryside in the mornings. If you want to be particularly careful, you can put fly screens on your windows. These also keep unwanted spider guests out of the house - a win-win situation. For more relaxed nights, it is recommended that you ventilate the bedroom accordingly and only go to bed with washed hair to keep pollen off your pillow.
But you don't have to miss out on the wonderful scent of spring. Fill your vases with fresh flowers, decorate with indoor daffodils or, if you like an extra intense dose of spring: hyacinths! Bring spring into your home and it will find its way into your mind and onto your skin!

But if all else fails in spring, create a playlist with songs that are real mood boosters for you (Hello 80s), turn it up, grab the vacuum cleaner, mop or whatever cleaning tool you prefer and get started. It's guaranteed to lift your mood and if not, at least you'll have a clean apartment at the end - and if that doesn't make your heart beat a little faster, then I don't know what will.

With that in mind: Happy Spring-Time! And in Whitney's words: “S till enough time to figure out how to chase my blues away… Oh, I wanna dance with somebody! ”

Enjoy the catchy tune!