What sort of interest is there on daylight savings? We’ve been saving for ages, but we’ve never spent any. These colder fall and winter months include not only a break from the heat of July and August, but also a break from the long and bright days of summer. Days when it’s easy to get out and breathe some fresh air, get in some physical activity, and generally feel better and happier. Not to mention that precious sunlight converting certain cholesterols in the skin into the vitally important vitamin D. Studies have shown for ages that mood and health decline along with the colder months. This begs the question “why do we roll back our clocks and lose an entire hour of precious daylight?” Though you and I may have been asking that question for a long time, researchers from the UK are asking it now and they’re being heard much more loudly and clearly than we.

Mayer Hillman of London’s Policy Studies Institute suggests that daylight savings doesn’t actually save anything. In fact, it eliminates “about 300 additional hours of daylight for adults each year, and 200 more for children.” He published a report on Friday 10/29/2010 online in the British Medical Journal that details studies that demonstrated people’s general decline in mood and energy levels in the shorter days of winter. Even if the extended daylight hour didn’t spur more people into exercising more, it would likely help toward a decline of other known conditions related to the darker winter months: poor mood and depression.

Dr. Robert Graham of New York’s Lenox Hill Hospital agrees with the idea on the basis of vitamin D’s importance. He stated that “Lessons learned by the explosion of research on the benefits of vitamin D add to the argument for not putting the clocks back.”

Up to 20% of Americans experience a form of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) through the winter months. It is a type of depression and in many cases is linked to changes in the amount of daylight at different times of year. It can lead to changes in appetite, fatigue, weight gain, anxiety, and even avoidance of social situations. It is thought that winter onset SAD is caused by the body’s reaction to less sunlight, which is another good reason for keeping that extra hour of light.

Doctors will often also prescribe medications to deal with SAD, but as is often the case…the best answers can be found in nature.

What we’re about to tell you is fact: zombies are real. Not in the apocalyptic sense you may think of, but there are cases of “walking dead” in the world. Cotard delusion, or Cotard’s syndrome is a very rare neuropsychiatric condition that stems from severe depression or damage to parts of the brain that recognize faces. The sufferer may not recognize the faces of loved ones and think them to be imposters, but in some cases they won’t even recognize their own face. Because of this lack of recognition and disconnection with their self, many times the result is a delusional belief that they are either dead or do not exist. This delusion has earned the name “walking corpse syndrome”.

As recent as 2008, 2 cases include a woman from the Philippines who told her family that she wanted to be taken to the morgue because she was dead and wanted to be with other dead people, and another from India who believed that certain organs were missing from her body. A homeless man was eventually treated after living on the streets and falling into a deep depression that caused him to eventually believe and tell people that he was dead and that his brain had “rotted away”. All 3 of these cases were treated, and eventually recovered. Treatment varies depending on severity, but antidepressant drugs are usually the first option. More success has been seen with electroconvulsive therapy than with drugs.

There have been reported cases of “zombies” dating back to the 18^th and 19^th centuries, where voodoo was practiced primarily in Haiti. Stories of victims being poisoned with neurotoxins from local puffer fish and buried alive, only to be dug up days later. The primary reason was for slavery, as instances of locals noticing loved ones long thought dead working in fields. These toxins can leave their victim in a sort of trance and although there are tales of people recovering and getting back to their families, most did not.

NSAIDs
Aspirin, along with a number of other NSAIDs (Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs) are used by many Americans not only for pain relief, but also to help thin the blood to reduce risk for stroke or heart attack. What you may not know is that it can also deplete folate and vitamin C from your system, making you more susceptible to cold, flu, and other infections that someone with normal levels may not be. Low levels of folate have also been linked to increased risk for various cancers including breast and colon cancer.

Calcium Channel Blockers
Used to treat high blood pressure, most people are more familiar with diuretics than calcium channel blockers. While it seems to be common knowledge that diuretics (which cause water excretion) can cause the depletion of important nutrients, it’s less known that calcium channel blockers can cause the same effect. The major nutrient lost because of this is potassium, which low levels of can cause fatigue and weakness of muscles. Because of this, blood pressure can rise in response to the added stress- which completely negates the intended use of the drug in the first place.

Fibrates
Prescribed to patients who have trouble managing cholesterol with statin drugs, fibrates can help to raise HDL (good cholesterol) and lower LDL (bad cholesterol) as well as triglycerides. On the downside of this equation, they can also lower natural levels of both vitamin E and coenzyme Q10. Low levels of vitamin E can increase risk for nerve disorders, heart disease, and cancer to name a few. Deficiencies in CoQ10 will usually result in muscle weakness and sometimes pain.

Diabetes drugs
The most popular oral medication for diabetes, metformin, makes cells more responsive to insulin and reduces weight gain and excessively low blood glucose better than other drugs. In addition to lowering blood sugar, it also lowers levels of vitamin B-12 and folate. Depleted levels of these vital nutrients can lead to bouts with depression, forgetfulness, and fatigue.

Take A Breather
Deep breaths raise your body’s blood oxygen levels, which can help increase your energy and alertness by lowering blood pressure and slowing your heart rate. The idea is to breathe deeply into your belly, not your chest. While sitting upright, inhale slowly through your nose and feel your abdomen push out, then exhale slowly through your mouth. Alternatively, a method used for quick energy in yoga calls for quick inhaling and exhaling through your nose while your mouth is closed. It is recommended to take 3 of these rapid breaths within a second, and repeat up to 15 seconds.

Move Around
If you have an office job like so many Americans, try getting a little exercise either on your lunch hour or if you get a shorter break throughout the day. A study from California State University, Long Beach suggested that the participants had a longer time of increased energy after taking a 10 minute walk than they did if they ate a candy bar or other sugary quick fix. The reason that a little brisk exercise works better than a store bought solution is that walking pumps oxygen through your veins and muscles.

Drink More Water
Your brain is made of 83% water, so it just makes sense that if you’re dehydrated it’s not going to function as well as it could or should. Fatigue isn’t the only symptom of dehydration of course, it can also cause depression, confusion, aggravation, constipation, and headaches. Make sure you drink plenty of water, or eat foods that have high water content like fruits and vegetables. Excess caffeine can cause dehydration, so be sure to balance it carefully.