How to keep your body disease free during a change of season

Health

How to keep your body disease-free during a change of season:

By Tapas Saha, 22/02/2020

Overview

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that's related to changes in seasons — SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year. If you're like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody. Less often, SAD causes depression in the spring or early summer.

Treatment for SAD may include light therapy (phototherapy), medications and psychotherapy.

Don't brush off that yearly feeling as simply a case of the "winter blues" or a seasonal funk that you have to tough out on your own. Take steps to keep your mood and motivation steady throughout the year.

Symptoms of Spring and summer

In most cases, seasonal affective disorder symptoms appear during late fall or early winter and go away during the sunnier days of spring and summer. Less commonly, people with the opposite pattern have symptoms that begin in spring or summer. In either case, symptoms may start out mild and become more severe as the season progresses.

Symptoms specific to summer-onset seasonal affective disorder, sometimes called summer depression, may include:

• Trouble sleeping (insomnia)
• Poor appetite
• Weight loss
• Agitation or anxiety

Tips to stay healthy and disease-free during springs:

The warmer weather and bright skies in spring can bring about a great amount of excitement after the winter months. The changing of the seasons is also an excellent time to adopt new healthy habits or take control of any existing health problems triggered during this time. Here are a few tips to make this season much more healthy and enjoyable:

1) Remove Allergy Triggers: Springtime is synonymous with plants being in full bloom, which also means that you can expect there to be more outdoor and indoor allergy triggers such as pollen and dust mites. You can control allergy symptoms by regularly washing linens and blankets, avoiding outdoor time when the pollen count is high, and taking time to talk to your doctor about any remedies that can alleviate your symptoms.

2) Start a New Workout Routine: Warmer weather and bright skies in spring means that conditions are perfect for getting outdoors. This is a great time to add variety into your exercise routine with activities such as hiking and running. Make sure to consult with your doctor before beginning any new exercise regimen.

3) Protect Your Skin: As you spend more and more time outdoors, it is important to take precaution to protect your skin by wearing sunblock. The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends that you choose a sunblock with an SPF higher than 30, and that has UVA-blocking ingredients such as zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, avobenzone, ecamsule, and oxybenzone.

4) Introduce Superfoods into Your Diet: Springtime means that new vegetables and fruit are in season. Think about incorporating superfoods such as walnuts, blueberries, asparagus and strawberries to make your diet both healthy and exciting.

5) My advice: Ask the expert for better treatment. A higher-SPF (sun protection factor) sunscreen always protect your skin better on Sun-light? 

Beginner's Gide to Seasonal Home Maintenance

IN SPRING:

1. Vacuum the lint from the hose of your clothes dryer.

2. Clean windows and repair any ripped screens. If a screen has a large hole in it, it's time to replace it.

3. Check gutters for clogs. Clean out any debris and make sure gutters and downspouts are secure (You can hire someone to do this if you'd rather not get up on the ladder yourself.).

4. Check the ground around the foundation of your house and re-grade it if necessary. (The ground around the foundation should slope away from the house.).

5. If you have a sump pump, test it to make sure it's working properly. There are several ways to do this, including taking off the lid and pouring in water to see if the pump kicks on.

6. If you have an attic fan, make sure it's working properly before the heat of summer arrives.

7. Test any GFCI outlets: plug in a lamp, hit the test button and then the reset button to see if it turns the light off and then on again (GFCI stands for Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter. These types of outlets are designed to protect you from severe or fatal electric shocks. They're often found in the kitchen and bathroom, or any place near a water source.).

8. Check for cracks in asphalt or concrete driveways and walkways. Repair or reseal them before winter, when water can freeze and expand in the cracks, creating more damage.

9. Check trees around the house to make sure they're not threatening wires or power lines. If they are, call a tree service to safely trim back branches.

10. Check the roof. If you find holes, crumbling, blistering or rotting roofing, repair or replace it?? (Again, this may be a job for an expert.).

11. Change furnace filters.

12. Test carbon monoxide and smoke detectors and replace batteries or devices if necessary.

IN SUMMER:

1. Clean and care for decks, patios, or porches. Look for peeling paint, sagging roofs, and damaged stairs. Make sure the supports are not broken, weakened, or rotted out.

2. Clean or power-wash your home's siding.

3. Check your home's crawlspace for water damage, animals, or other foreign matter.

4. Test and lubricate garage doors. This is also a good time to clean out all that clutter that seems to accumulate in garages.

5. Remove showerheads and clean them to remove any sediment buildup.

6. Check your dishwasher. Look for any signs of leaks under or around it. Check to see that the washer arm isn't stuck by opening the dishwasher and spinning and lifting the washer arm. Make sure the drain hose arcs up to prevent backwash from the drain into the dishwasher.

7. Schedule a service call to have your furnace checked before the first cold day of fall or winter.

8. Clean your refrigerator coils. Refer to your fridge's manual or manufacturer's website to find out how.

9. Replace flashlight batteries.

10. Change furnace filters.

11. Test carbon monoxide and smoke detectors and replace batteries or devices if necessary.

FALL:

1. Vacuum the lint from the hose of your clothes dryer.
2. Check windows and seals for leaks. Reseal them if necessary.
3. Shut off all hose bibs, which are the outside water faucets or connections for garden hoses.
4. Clean out the gutters, especially if you live in an area where leaves could clog them (Consider hiring a professional to do this if you don't own a safe ladder or are afraid of heights.).
5. Check the soffit for stains, which can be a sign of a leak (The soffit, also known as the eaves, is the overhanging lower edge of the roof.).
6. Put your garden and yard "to bed" for the winter. This means cleaning up overgrown vegetation and everything else. Don't forget to bring in or cover up outdoor furniture, grills, and fire pits.
7. If you have an indoor fireplace, make sure it's ready for use in the winter. This is probably the time to call in a professional.
8. Make sure ceiling fans are secured to the ceiling and haven't come loose during the summer.
9. Change furnace filters.
10. Test carbon monoxide and smoke detectors and replace batteries or devices if necessary

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