Last weekend marked the end of British Summer Time, with the clocks turning back an hour, much to the majority of peoples enjoyment; “yay – an extra hour in bed!”. For me, it was definitely the opposite – sad that summer has ended (I am fairly certain that I am solar powered).
Whilst it the extra hour in bed seemed fantastic at the time, with me waking up at 8am feeling fresh as a daisy, I have struggled to adjust this week. Each morning I feel like I’ve been awake at the crack of dawn, an hour before my alarm goes off – which has become incredibly frustrating! Not to mention the evenings, leaving work in the dark, and struggling to keep my eyes open.
After doing a bit of research, it seems that everyone’s circadian rhythm can be affected differently. Less light in the evenings will have resulted in higher melatonin levels, causing me to feel a lot more groggy and tired, and definitely having to take an effervescent tablet containing caffeine and Vitamin B12 in the early evenings!
One of the supplements that you can turn to, to help optimise your circadian rhythm is magnesium. Well known for its calming and soothing effects on the body, magnesium can be added into more innovative supplemental formats such as drinks, effervescent tablets, and fastmelt powders. The latter, great for those travelling and wanting to avoid jetlag.
Other key vitamin that you should be making sure you are on top of this winter is Vitamin D. with the decreasing daylight hours we need to ensure we are getting enough vitamin D. Being Vit D deficient can result in a reduction in calcium absorption. Make sure that you get your vit D from fatty fish, mushrooms, egg yolks or supplements.