As many people who tend to have clutter and are good at geometry, I love patterns. In the past few weeks I’ve noticed two patterns from local clients and friends: Depression and lots of open windows on their computers. Morbid pun aside, the repeating pattern got me thinking and theorizing about how these two things are related…
With wind chill, NYC’s weather has recently been considered to be as low as -19F. It’s been very cold, and not always sunny, which can deplete our Vitamin D. It’s easy to understand cold weather causing NYers to fly south, but how would it lead to an excess of open windows (or tabs) on our computers?
We’ve talked about the how important it is to treat our prefrontal cerebral cortex nicely and it turns out that it’s even more important to do this in the winter. Here’s why:
The prefrontal cerebral cortex, the CEO of our brains, is the evolutionarily newest and arguably the most delicate part of our brains. It is responsible for decision-making, producing dopamine, and also houses anxiety disorders such as PTSD, OCD, ADD, ADHD, etc. It’s the part of the brain Joumor is most dedicated to calming and re-wiring. We know people often feel sad or depressed in the winter. But did you know you can be more scattered, and have a harder time making decisions, too?
In a study about autism and related causes,“Dr. Patrick and Dr. Ames show that vitamin D hormone activates the gene that makes the enzyme tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (TPH2), that converts the essential amino acid tryptophan, to serotonin in the brain.”[1]
Serotonin is one of the major hormones responsible for focus, motivation, and delayed gratification, all of which contribute to our overall wellbeing AND our productivity. So in winter, when we see less sun, and many of us are or become vitamin D deficient, we can find ourselves more confused and overwhelmed.
Joumor is all of us. Our stuff and habits, but also our bodies and decisions. If your lack of productivity is disconcerting you, and you find yourself searching among 40 open windows, take a pause, eat some fish or some yogurt[2], and put on your coat and go catch some rays. 🙂
To your health and productivity!
[1] https://www.childrenshospitaloakland.org/main/news/research-by-chori-scientists-indicates-causal-link-230.aspx
[2] https://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/high-vitamin-D-foods.php