5 Tips To Survive SAD Season
The fall season promises many things: cool crisp air, warm scented flavors ruminating throughout, and cozy cable knit sweaters. For many of us, however, the fall is also the beginning of Seasonal Affective Disorder, or simply SAD.
According to John Hopkins Medicine, SAD is a kind of depression that occurs most often in fall or winter, when the days are shorter and colder, there’s less sunlight, and your body produces more melatonin. Anyone who experiences this form of depression knows that blizzards and holidays with your family aren’t the only brutal things to worry about.
Women get SAD more often than men, and the risk increases with age. If you feel more irritable, anxious, drowsy, withdrawn, or depressed this fall, ask your doctor about SAD. In the meantime, xoNecole has compiled a list of tips to help make these next few months more bearable.
Vitamin D
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The sun is our biggest source of Vitamin D, which is an important component of bone health and calcium absorption. When the days become shorter and darker, however, we lose out on the sun’s natural benefit. It's why it’s important to start taking Vitamin D supplements and consuming vitamin D-rich foods and drinks like salmon, orange juice, mushrooms, dairy milk, and tofu to substitute the benefits we’ll lose from the sun.
Carbs
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Due to the evils of diet culture, we’ve been taught that carbs are a bad thing for you, only to be consumed in small doses. However, carbs are a necessary nutrient that provides us with a needed energy boost. Foods like bananas, apples, beans, cauliflower, and oranges are high in carbs and will help to get you through this sluggish part of the year.
Sun Lamp
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With limited to no energy from the sun during these months, a sun lamp can be the next best thing for those struggling with SAD. A sun lamp is specially made with bulbs that mimic sunlight. This provides you with a needed boost in serotonin, vitamin D, and immune boosting.
Hot exercises
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A great way to reinvigorate your senses that have gone dormant in response to the cold weather is by doing hot exercises. That includes such activities like hot yoga, hot pilates, hot cycling, and more. With movement plus the heat, hot exercise will help your tight muscles to loosen up while also having a bit of heat infused into your chilly days.
Rest
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Even with all these tips, it’s still important to know that the best way to honor your body and mind during these darker months is to rest when you can. There’s no shame in a mid-afternoon nap or simply resting for a few minutes to help you recalibrate. If bears can hibernate all winter, then you should certainly be allowed an hour to sleep in the middle of your day.
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Featured image by Getty mages
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Rihanna Talks Shedding Expectations And Finding Balance As A Mother
Since becoming a mother in 2022, Rihanna has defined parenthood by her terms and hopes to pass that sense of autonomy on to her children.
For Vogue China’s April cover story, Rihanna shared her perspective on raising her two sons with A$AP Rocky, and how she hopes to preserve her children’s uniqueness, devoid of societal expectations.
"The most beautiful thing...is that [children] come into the world with their own individuality and sincerity, without any logic or conformity,” she told the publication. “Which usually makes you feel that you must fit into a certain group."
The “Work” artist, known for her trendsetting style and captivating persona, expressed her desire to support children in fully embracing their individuality and encouraging them to be whoever they want to be. "It's really beautiful to see and I want to continue to help them navigate that and make sure that they know they can be whoever they want to be,” she says.
She continues, “They should embrace it completely, because it's beautiful, and it's unique. I love them just that way."
From shattering music charts to shaking up the beauty industry, Rihanna has forged a path that has since created the “dream” life we see today. One that she says has made her parents proud of.
“I’m living my dream,” she continued. “My parents were very proud of that because they just wanted me to be happy and successful. So, I think the key thing is to find some kind of balance. Yes, balance is important. Do this and you get the best of both worlds. You can write your own life the way you want, and it will be beautiful. Sometimes, you just need to let go of everyone’s expectations and start living your own story.”
Rihanna, who shares sons, RZA, 23 months, and Riot, 8 months, with rapper A$AP Rocky, recently shared her vision for expanding her family in the future in Interview Magazine.
When stylist Mel Ottenberg asked about the number of additional children she hoped to have, Rihanna replied, "As many as God wants me to have.”
"I don't know what God wants, but I would go for more than two. I would try for my girl,” she adds. “But of course, if it's another boy, it's another boy."
Featured image by Neil MockfordWireImage