Hi guys, it's Constance with BodyTx Massage and Health. Wanted to touch base a little bit about some things that are going on in terms of the cold's and the flu's happening in this time of season change. We just recently went through a time change as well, so our hours of daylight are even shorter. We wake up and it's dark. Even if we get off work, it might be dark already. Those days are getting shorter and shorter, so we're seeing less and less daylight. We're cooped up inside a little bit more, we're not going outside as much, because it's colder, and gloomy, and icy, and cold.

So I just wanted to talk a little bit about a few things to keep in mind as you shift into this season. One thing being we've just gotten off the post Halloween phase, but we're leading up into the Christmas time frame. Often that means a lot more sugar in take, and so we as parents maybe have been sneaking a few of those Halloween snacks still. Then we're also leading up to a lot of maybe holiday gatherings, going out on weekends, getting together for Christmas parties and enjoying some of the sugar that might be happening at those gatherings.

So, just keep in mind that the sugar can really affect the body in terms of immunity and also our immune response, it depresses it and also in regard to sleep. So, we're going through a lot of blood sugar up and down, up and down. Especially if we're eating a few snacks or treats before bedtime, getting a little bit less sleep as a result because we're having trouble getting to sleep. Then we just get into this vicious cycle where we're not getting sleep, and then we crave more sugar and it just keeps going and going. At the same with carbohydrates too a little bit, we tend to hibernate a little bit.

So, just keep that in mind, that you're monitoring that intake and don't feel like you can't have any, it's just be aware that that can affect how you're feeling during this time of season change.

Another thing that I wanted to mention is also to keep up that exercise as much as possible. Just keep the chance of going outside, especially if you can during the daytime, getting a little bit of the sunshine, even if it might be gloomy there's still some UV rays coming through. We want to keep that Vitamin D going as much as possible. Even just the feeling of fresh air coming through the respiratory system is a great way to wake the body up a little bit and maintain cardio health and physical health as well.

So, it really does help to keep that going. I know it's maybe not as enjoyable when you see outside and it's icy cold, but it's still great to just bundle right up, get that scarf right around your face if you need to, and get a chance to get outside.

The other thing is when we're cooped up inside in our homes, or in the buildings, we're not getting that fresh air. We're just getting that recycled air that is filtered maybe a little bit, but lots of dust particles coming through. So you're breathing that in a lot, and that can affect allergy symptoms and you might find that you're getting a little bit more of that, even though you might see that more happen in the summer, being outside with allergies and stuff like that. But it does happen come this time of year as well, because we're more cooped up inside, and breathing our recycled air there.

So, one suggestion in order to deal with that is acupuncture can really help rebalance all of that as well. So, it rebalances the meridians and organ systems, be able to just give you a tuneup if you need to, if you do have allergies. Sarah our acupuncturist can help rebalance all of that.

Acupuncture is also known to boost the immune system, so she's really good at being able to hone in on any cold or flu like symptoms that you might be having. She can reduce the feeling of those and it's also a preventive treatment as well. So, if you've been going in for acupuncture for a specific need and then you need maybe a tuneup to get through this season, it's a great way to be preventative in terms of getting through this colder change of season as well.

Another thing that you can think about is we have hot stone massage, so you can get a nice warm massage from the hot stones. We also have our new clay heat packs and heated tables. So, really if you can think of climbing onto the table and getting a massage treatment, it helps a lot for getting through that winter season as well.

One last tip is also electronics. We all seem to be a little bit glued to our cell phones, or tablets. Think about turning that off an hour or two before you actually go to bed, because it's that fake light that's happening. It kind of confuses our brains about what time it really is, when it's dark out, yet we're looking at a bright cell phone light at night. Think about turning that off a good hour or two before bed, and then it really gets your body into the circadian rhythm, gets some sleep. Because sleep is really needed during this season.

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