Every year, it's the same thing: September is directly marked by stress and fatigue.
The benefits of vacation often fade quickly, and by mid-September, you already feel like you need more time off.
Your complexion is gray and tense despite the tan, and dark circles appear despite weeks spent relaxing and resting.
It must be said that getting back into the rhythm is never easy, and we don't always have the right habits to ensure everything goes smoothly.
But, with a little anticipation and by taking care of your health first and foremost, everything can go smoothly without losing the benefits of vacation upon returning to work.
Here are our tips for starting the new season in good shape!
Make sleep a priority
After several weeks of late nights, lie-ins, and naps at will, getting back into the rhythm is not easy.
To avoid fatigue and feeling out of sync, it's best to start a few days in advance to gradually readjust your bedtime and wake-up schedule. Try to go to bed a little earlier each night so you can also wake up earlier. This will help you avoid stress and feeling completely foggy when your alarm goes off at 6:30 a.m.
To help with this, also move up dinner time - you never sleep well on a full stomach, avoid physical exercise and screens after 7 p.m., and prefer gentle activities - it's the perfect time to finish the books you didn't have time to read during your vacation!
Don't hesitate to use herbal supplements according to your needs (anxiety, difficulty falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings, or non-restorative sleep):
Hawthorn, which contains flavonoids and proanthocyanidols with calming properties, effective for stress, anxiety, emotional instability, or even insomnia.
Valerian, which contains iridoids and valerenic acids known for their properties in maintaining quality sleep. It promotes deep and restorative sleep in case of insomnia, irritability, or nervous tension. It reduces the time it takes to fall asleep and improves the quality of sleep.
Passionflower, which contains specific alkaloids and flavonoids known for their relaxing properties. It has soothing effects, promotes falling asleep, and improves deep sleep phases.
In the form of fresh plant suspensions (SIPFs), the effectiveness of these plants is optimal. You can use them for yourself (unless you are pregnant) and for your children from the age of 12 (and 40 kg).
Once you're back at work, don't fall back into the vicious cycle of bringing work home or being reachable 24/7.
Make sure to get at least 7 hours of sleep per night, as falling below this threshold accumulates fatigue rapidly.
Eat balanced meals
To avoid fatigue, it's important to eat properly both in terms of quantity (not too much or too little) and quality, meaning choosing foods that have real nutritional value and allow you to meet your needs for nutrients (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals and trace elements, essential fatty acids, and amino acids).
You've probably developed good habits (going to the market, cooking, using seasonal products) during your vacation, so keep them up!
Indeed, the ideal is to adopt a varied and balanced diet. It also means avoiding heavy foods rich in fats and sugars that are difficult to digest and exhaust the body.
The Mediterranean diet seems to be the most suitable. It's not a diet in the sense of a weight loss diet, but rather a way of eating daily, inspired by the eating habits traditionally followed by populations around the Mediterranean. It allows for a healthy diet free from sugary, processed products or those containing unhealthy fats and - not to be underestimated, it will remind you of vacation.
Its main principles are as follows:
Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.
Include complex carbohydrates, whole grains, and nuts (whole grain bread, legumes, nuts and almonds...).
Prioritize fish: at least 3 times a week, alternating between fatty fish (salmon, mackerel) and lean fish (cod, haddock, sea bream...).
Limit the consumption of eggs and poultry to a few times a week.
Greatly reduce red meat consumption and eliminate processed meats.
Use aromatic seasonings liberally: onion, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, basil...
Occasionally consume goat or sheep yogurt and cheese, but not cow's milk.
Moderate your daily caloric intake: between 1800 and 2500 calories per day depending on your level of activity, height, and ideal weight.
Give preference to olive, rapeseed, walnut, or camelina vegetable oils, to the detriment of butter, cream, or sunflower and corn oils.
A typical day might look like this:
Breakfast: Unsweetened tea or coffee, 2 slices of whole grain bread, sheep's milk yogurt, an orange.
Lunch: Asparagus with vinaigrette, grilled red mullet with herbs, ratatouille, lentil salad, sheep cheese, a kiwi.
Dinner: Tomatoes with olive oil, garlic, and basil, brown rice with mixed vegetables, chickpeas with coriander, fruit salad with cinnamon.
Don't let stress overwhelm you
At the beginning of the school year, stress is our number one enemy! It literally exhausts you within a few weeks and can wreak havoc on your health.
Therefore, it's crucial not to let it overwhelm you.
Plan, make lists. This will prevent you from feeling overwhelmed and cornered by the amount of things to do - for household chores that you've shared among family members, administrative tasks, and also at work.
Anticipate by scheduling some time off where you can disconnect.
This is a good time to sign up for yoga, meditation, or sophrology classes, which are good ways to naturally relax.
Also, remember magnesium. This essential trace element is, in fact, a regulator of sleep and mood. Magnesium deficiency is implicated in many disorders, foremost among them being fatigue, nocturnal awakenings, depression, and anxiety.
However, 77% of women and 72% of men have inadequate magnesium intake and are deficient - you are very likely to be among them.
Magnesium deficiency is a real vicious circle that, starting from the beginning of the school year, can handicap you all year long:
Magnesium deficiency causes fatigue. In return, you'll tend to consume more coffee and stimulants. However, caffeine also leads to an increase in urinary magnesium loss.
The sleep debt induced by magnesium deficiency will lead you to turn to "comfort foods" rich in sugars and fats. This unbalanced diet tends to lead to magnesium deficiency and exhaust your body.
If magnesium deficiency induces stress, stress itself triggers the production of catecholamines, the "stress hormones" that promote the escape of magnesium from cells, then its elimination in urine.
As for anxiolytics, prescribed in some cases of anxiety, they are also a factor in magnesium deficiency…
Magnesium supplements will help to:
Improve sleep: reduce the time it takes to fall asleep, decrease nocturnal awakenings, improve sleep quality.
Prevent and reduce stress.
Improve concentration.
They thus constitute a valuable aid in staying in shape at the beginning of the school year and experiencing it calmly and without fatigue.
Incorporate exercise into your routine
During the holidays, you may have engaged in more physical activity than in the past year. Keep it up!
On a daily basis, try to
walk briskly for at least 30 minutes every day, be as active as possible: skip escalators and elevators as well as public transportation when you can, garden, do your shopping…
Try to engage in sports twice a week: cycling, running, fitness, swimming... choose according to your tastes and possibilities.
Whether it's early in the morning, during lunch break, or after work, all schedules are equally beneficial in terms of reducing fatigue and stress.
Did you know that exercise has also been shown to have a greater effect than antidepressants in the long term and in preventing relapses?
Prevent winter depression
Taking care of yourself at the beginning of the school year also means preventing winter depression, which begins when sunlight decreases and intensifies with the gray weather of November.
In addition to a magnesium supplement and physical exercise, you can counter this unpleasant gloomy period.
Stock up on vitamin D. Indeed, deficiencies can lead to both depressive states and fatigue. Since it is produced mainly by the skin when exposed to sunlight, take advantage of the beautiful colors of late summer and autumn for nice walks. Also, don't hesitate to supplement, especially if you spend little time outdoors, have dark or black skin, and have a diet low in milk, butter, fatty fish, offal (food sources of vitamin D).
Focus on omega-3s. It has been shown that deficiencies in this essential fatty acid can cause fatigue and mood disorders. You will find it mainly in fatty and semi-fatty fish, nuts, and rapeseed and linseed oils. However, even with a Mediterranean-type diet, you may still be deficient and it is worth considering supplementation.
If you feel gloomy and tired, you can also try a St. John's Wort supplement. This plant is known to contribute to emotional balance. However, be careful of drug interactions and do not use it if you are taking any of the following treatments: synthetic antidepressants, anticancer drugs, ciclosporin (an immunosuppressant), exposure to phototherapy and radiotherapy treatments, painkillers, migraine treatments, cardiovascular drugs, AIDS drugs, anti-inflammatories, anticoagulants, or hormonal contraceptives.
See your friends, maintain a rich social life. Keep "holiday" habits: organize brunches with friends on Sundays, restaurant outings, or even a themed Halloween party, seize all opportunities to meet new people and nurture your friendships.
Treat yourself. It's essential for keeping your spirits up! Try out new tempting recipes made from healthy seasonal products, devour a good book or an exciting new series, schedule an appointment with the hairdresser or esthetician, indulge in a long hot bath or sauna... In short, never neglect your well-being!