My forefathers were likely hunter-gatherers who roamed the plains of Eastern Europe chasing herds of mastodon. A quick glance at my physique (spongy and soft when I don’t work out, able to go from flab to fit instantly when I do) and you can tell that my people were from a time in man’s evolution that required packing on the pounds when the weather turned cold, and taking long, long naps when the mastodon (mastodi?) weren’t plentiful.

That, at least, is part of the biological rational behind Seasonal Affectiveness Disorder, the term for the lethargy and sometimes depression that would effect up to a third of the population—if we all lived somewhere cold. I tend to suffer from a rather light, yet annoying and—yawn—tiring version of SAD and many winters I can be found sprawled out on a couch recovering from workouts I skipped because I was too tired.

Many people treat SAD with light therapy and some new research(PDF) indicates that the human eye has receptors for blue light that helps to regulate circadian rhythm. The gray skies of winter, as the theory goes, causes a decrease in blue light and a decrease in the production of chemicals in the brain. The end result is a “long winter’s nap.”

I’ve been working with a Philips goLITE LED light treatment box, a small compact light source that produces the wavelength of blue that stimulates the human eye. It’s been working well, well enough in fact that I’m at the gym all the time now.

Which brings me to the reason that I’m mentioning this in the first place, the corollary between exercise and mood. Science has acknowledged that exercise is great for your sense of well-being, but I’d previously assumed that being in a good mood made me able to go for long-distance bike rides—it feels so good to ride a bike that I just keep going and going and going.
In previous winters I’ve taken spin classes and done weight training to keep active and keep my mood up, but it’s never been quite enough. Now though, I’ve started to purposefully combine both activities to make my total workout time longer—anywhere from an hour to two hours at a time, and I’m finding that I’m in a significantly better mood. Now I’m thinking that it’s the long distance riding itself that’s making me happy enough to keep riding.

So a few times a week when I’m not on the road for business I cart myself off to spin class (at a gym that’s not near my house since I find the distance helps motivate me to stay there a while) and push it through the forty-five minute workout. Pulsing music, sweating people, barked instructions from a spin coach all really get my heart rate up and my mood elevated. But after class, instead of heading home I start a circuit of weight training. I’ll take my time and try to be sure to get in really good form, but I’m finding the additional time working out is making a huge difference.

So for those of you who are get cranky, upset or sleepy as soon as the leaves are all off the trees, here’s something to try. Get yourself to the gym, and don’t leave. Even if you’re just doing a slow mild walk on the treadmill, spend enough time to really get your endorphins going and to convince your body that you’re not trying to ride out the next ice age.

It’s a lot better than downing a bag of Doritos on the couch and then taking a nap.