A Merry Christmas – or A Merry Year???
By Dr Sanien de Beer
As the end of year stress accumulates, everybody is looking forward to the
day on the calendar which marks the beginning of the summer holiday and
Festive Season. Images of golden beaches, sunshine days, tranquil forests
walks, happy hours with friends and loved ones and of course delicious foods
fill our minds as a final motivation to just ‘make it’ until the holiday finally arrives.
It may sound like a paradox, but the festive season can also be a time of
great challenges. Most people are familiar with the feelings of fatigue
and burn out which dampens the spirit of the summer holiday and descend on
you out of the blue. When understanding that it is only a message from your
body and mind, interpreting that message correctly and responding to it in an
appropriate way, it can pave the path for a rejuvenating and restorative holiday!
Neurotransmitters are the chemicals in your brain which conveys messages
and impulses between nerve cells. These chemical messengers allow
communication between cells which are central to memory, learning,
mood, behaviour, sleep, pain perception and sexual urge. Nutrients in
food are precursors to neurotransmitters. The amount of precursors present
in the food you eat will influence your level of neurotransmitters. Depleted
supplies of “feel good” neurotransmitters will in turn undermine your ability
to feel happy, upbeat, motivated and on track. Certain neurotransmitters –
when depleted, can cause you to be easily agitated or angered. It can further
cause you to experience mild to severe anxiety, depression and even
sleep problems.
Neurotransmitters are in a constant state of flux – adjusting constantly to
meet the needs of the current circumstances. At night, the brain needs to
raise the level of certain neurotransmitters to bring about a quieting, relaxing
effect and to induce sleep. In the morning, it must lower its levels of these
neurotransmitters and raise excitatory neuro transmitter levels to wake you
up and give you energy for the day ahead. Exercise increases levels of
euphoria inducing neurotransmitters. During times of stress, levels of
neurotransmitters must be raised to help you keep calm. When in
pain, inhibitory neurotransmitters are used by the brain to restrict the
transmission of pain. It is thus almost ‘normal’ for the body to have exhausted
its supply of neurotransmitters by the time the Christmas Holiday arrives…
Nothing replaces the benefits of following a well balanced and nutritious
eating plan. Nutritional Supplements have their place – but vitality is based
on a simple truth: You only get the full benefit of vitamins, minerals and anti
oxidants if they are concentrated in food and herbal complexes. Active
constituents should not be chemically isolated as the body knows how to handle
real food, but struggles to handle manmade chemicals. It may be helpful to
consult with a holistic health care Professional to ensure you are doing all
you can to optimise your level of neuro transmitters! Sufficiently balanced nutrition
and neurotransmitters levels give rise to enthusiastic people – people who radiate
positive energy! It may be one of your best new year’s resolutions to ensure that
you have optimal neurotransmitters in store! May this holiday season be an
opportunity for you to fill up your Christmas stocking with Neurotransmitters –
for you to attract zest and enthusiasm for 2015 – and to make it -
A MERRY YEAR