How to prepare for entry in autumn?

Autumn arrived on September 22, and we are entering a winter period where the body and mind must return to work eagerly and resist the lack of sun, heat, summer terraces, beaches and walks in nature … It is also the period of the beginning of the school year, we must resume a new rhythm,sometimes very intense for the parents of young children! It is therefore important to immediately adopt the right habits to take care of yourself. Taking care of oneselfmeans at the same time preparing physically, emotionally, and psychologically for a period seen by many as grayer, darker, and yet includes immense joys. I have a holistic (global) vision of personal development and happiness. Physical health, energy, form, matter as much as psychic health and personal "intellectual" and spiritual development. So I wanted to write a small article to summarize some good ideas to"enter autumn"and make the most of this magnificent season with sublime colors … before the pleasures of winter!

At the sleep well warm

One of the first tips I could give you is of course to respect your need for sleep. Starting this new year of activity by staying glued to the screens until very late, getting up early by not having finished your night to be able to start your day, is necessarily emptying the reserves of energy and good mood that you have accumulated during your holidays this summer. Your sleep is more important than a movie, a video on Youtube, a science fiction novel, cleaning, accounts…, or any other activity that you think is essential to your well-being. I will talk about it again, but many studies have shown that the inhabitants of modern Western countries slept on average 9 hours a night before 1940, compared to 6:50 today. Because of, in particular, the screens. Lack of sleep is constantly mentioned in scientific articles, as it leads to exhaustion, depression, heart problems, stress, weight gain…, among other problems. Limit your outings in the evening, and do not hesitate to go to bed earlier, first to recover from the resumption of rhythm of the beginning of the school year, but also to fill up with energy to approach the winter. Stop imagining that you are "cool" if you go to bed late,it is society that dictates this, to push you to consume until late at night. If you sleep at 8 p.m., after your meal, go to bed! Do not stay in front of a film that will sometimes (often) not bring you much, record it for a rainy afternoon! Don't nibble to stay awake, because you're tired (we often confuse hunger with fatigue). This does not prevent you at all from partying with friends, or love with your spouse, even if it means falling asleep late. But on a daily basis, when there is no greater pleasure, if you have to get up at 6 o'clock, go to bed at 10am – maximum. To go into more detail, here is a list of small tips to have beautiful nights of rest.

• First, turn off the TV or any other screen, including smartphones !… , at least half an hour before bedtime. The light from the screens is rather bluish, which causes melatonin to remain too low a level. But melatonin is the hormone that triggers sleep…Unplug your electrical appliances, except the refrigerator of course! Do not use your smartphone as an alarm clock, invest in a good old classic alarm clock, battery-powered, ideally those who offer soft and calm music to wake you up little by little in the morning. There are also the dawn light alarm clocks, very pleasant and natural, your best allies to wake you up gently. Alarm clocks should not wake you up, but just be "safeguards": if you have slept enough, you should wake up naturally…

• Close the shutters or curtains in order to have the most total darkness, and do not hesitate to put quies balls so as not to be disturbed by any noise. Darkness and silence are essential to have an uninterrupted, deep, and therefore restorative sleep.

• Before bedtime, take the time to calm down, relax, prepare for sleep. The body cannot instantly go from bright lights, animated screens, dynamic music, heated discussions, stimulating video games, to a state of rest. If ideas absorb you, if you have problems, write them down in a notebook placed on your bedside table. They will be there when you wake up, but in the meantime, and to cope with them, you have to SLEEP and recharge your energy.

• Feel free to use and abuse candles, relaxing music, and open your room windows. Simply lowering the temperature below 18 degrees will automatically inform your body that it's time to sleep. There are dietary supplements available in pharmacies and parapharmacies, based on melatonin, natural and without addiction, which will help you fall asleep faster and allow you to avoid insomnia in the middle of the night. Don't deprive yourself of it until your natural sleep is restored.

Autumn, eating good for yourself

In terms of food, this period is ideal to enjoy the fruits and vegetables of autumn, and to make you a cure of micronutrients, vitamins, minerals,everything you need to boost your body and allow it to continue to be in full shape and energetic. Do not start consuming more starchy foods and sugar to compensate for that feeling of the beginning of hibernation, which makes you want to feed on more caloric foods as soon as the days get shorter. This is an ancestral reflex,since prehistoric men in winter had the instinct to accumulate, like many animals, more calories to be able to survive icy winters and a potential lack of food. Our modern life is not at all the same, we live and sleep in heated housing, supermarkets are full of food, and we no longer spend 8000 calories a day like 20,000 years ago! On the contrary, focus on greens and autumn vegetables,invest in blenders, blenders, and juice extractors, to prepare food concentrates that are good for you. This will boost your immune system and allow you to avoid catching the first virus that will come knocking on your door.

Feeding on light

Another essential element for our well-being and our physical and psychological health is the sun! Even if it is becoming rarer, it is (precisely) necessary to make the most of the sunny moments to go out. Get out of its boxes (car, apartment, office, bar, restaurant …) and taking the light of day is fundamental to maintain health and not fall into a seasonal depression. Take advantage of your lunch breaks, in the morning, if you work as an employee with fixed schedules, enjoy the evening just out of the office to take a short walk: 30 minutes of sun in a park is enough to provide you with the amount of daylight necessary to boost your pineal gland, and stay in a good mood. There is also a technique called sungazing, observing the sun with open eyes when it sets, I will tell you about it in another article. Getting in the sun also reduces the tendency to bulimia when you enter winter…

Home sweet home

It can also be very nice to prepare your house for the entrance in winter. To change its décor to make it warmer, for example by installing soft and fluffy carpets, taking out plaids that you will put on your sofa, and as a rule, decorating your home, house or apartment, with autumnal and warm colors. I love every autumn to walk in the forest, to admire the pretty colors of the trees, and to collect chestnuts, fallen leaves and branches, to add candles and objects made of wood and wool, everything that reminds me of what is soft and warm, to put me in psychological condition. Clean up, put away what is useless, put on your summer clothes in cardboard or covers, and take out your coats, boots, scarves… Do a little shopping or run the vide-dressings and the latest braderies to renew your wardrobe, and sell, give, or recycle what is old, stained, torn or holey, what you no longer like, no longer suits you. No need to change everything! But the new allows to move to a new stage of life. We thus prepare his "interior" for the new season… Also plan activities in your schedule, such as inviting friends for a dinner, a movie night, a walk, a concert between musician friends … Some even like to start planning their Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations in early September to give themselves a new goal – an important goal: to be together with their family. And if you have the time and means, do not hesitate to plan a nice holiday in December or January. It is the ideal season to go to Asia, outside the monsoon periods, to the mountains, and by the sea too, for those who love the raging waves. So it's essentially a story ofacceptance to let the summer go, and enjoy all that autumn brings. Summer is normally a time of pause, which allows you to recharge your batteries, rest, recover from lack of sleep possibly, but also to take a step back from your life. Is it in line with what you want? If you feel that small – or big – changes are to be made, autumn is the right time to take action!

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