How to Beat Spring Fever
Whenever spring comes around, don’t you feel so drowsy and sleepy that you can’t focus on anything at work and school? That means you are under the spell of spring fever. What is spring fever, and what can we do to beat it?
What is Spring Fever?
Spring fever is a temporarily disturbed state of the body typically characterized by fatigue. Its symptoms disappear usually within one to three weeks, and spring fever itself is not an illness. However, the symptoms you have might be early signs of some chronic diseases. So if fatigue becomes severer and persists more than a month, make sure to see your doctor.
Why Do We Get Spring Fever?
The causes are scientifically unclear yet, but the fatigue may be caused while the body is going through seasonal changes and this alters stimulation that affects our body, especially, hormonal cycles and the central nervous system. In springtime, nights become shorter and the skin temperature increases, relaxing muscles. This may lead to the drowsy feeling. Also, we become more active in spring, requiring more nutrients such as protein, vitamins, and minerals, but we haven’t had enough of them in winter. This imbalance might be another cause of spring fever.
If you didn’t do enough workouts in winter or haven’t gotten enough rest lately, spring fever might become severer. Its common symptoms include fatigue, drowsiness, loss of appetite, indigestion, and dizziness. Some may experience symptoms similar to those of menopause, like sudden loss of appetite, low energy, palpitation, and hot flashes over the face.
How to Combat Spring Fever
1. A well-regulated life is a key.
Doing light workouts and relaxing muscles also works. Loosen up your muscles with stretching or a short walk.
2. Eat a sufficient amount of protein, vitamins, and minerals, and avoid excessive drinking and smoking.
Drinking too much coffee to keep you up or drinking alcohol and smoking to ease stress may make you more tired and sleepier. If you have a lot to do in the morning, don’t forget your breakfast. It gives sufficient nutrients your brain needs. And don’t eat too much for lunch. It also helps to eat something appetizing and rich in vitamin B1 and C. As our body works more active in spring, it consumes three to five times more vitamins than in winter. This might cause vitamin deficiency, so adjust your diet plans to include more fresh vegetables and fruits. This will help you overcome fatigue and strengthen your immune system. Taking a sufficient amount of vitamin B1 and C is very important because each boosts carbohydrate metabolism and the immune system, respectively. Vitamin B1 is found in barley, beans, peanuts, and grains, while the common source of vitamin C includes fruits and seasonal vegetables such as Korean wile chives and shepherd’s purse. For a good night’s sleep, eat protein-rich food such as fish or meat for lunch and have carbs for dinner like grains and fruits. Drinking green tea in the morning also works.
3. To prevent accidents on a long drive, take a break at least every 2 hours.
If you have spring fever while driving, it distracts you and you might fall asleep behind the wheel to cause an accident. Since many of the accidents cause by drowsiness are huge in scale, spring fever may be more dangerous than drunk driving. If you feel drowsy, stop and get out of the car and do some stretching or check your car. Opening windows and letting fresh air in the car also helps.
Just like trees and flowers waking up from a long winter sleep, our body needs some time to wake up for spring. Spring fever is a natural phenomenon we experience as our body adjusts itself to changing seasons. So, make sure to keep you energetic this spring with healthy diet and well-regulated life cycles.
