Spring asthenia is an adjustment disorder due to the change of season, not a disease. As its name suggests, it usually occurs around the beginning of spring and presents symptoms of generalized fatigue (both physical and mental) and a general feeling of lack of vitality. The causes are unknown (it seems that there is an alteration in the production of melatonin and serotonin, but it is not confirmed), it is more frequent in women between 20 and 50 years old and it lasts approximately and limited to more or less fifteen days.

What can we do about spring asthenia?

• Adapt sleep schedules (since it usually coincides with the time change in March).
• Do moderate physical activity.
• Regarding food, it is highly advisable to take fruits and vegetables of different colors, to ensure an adequate supply of all vitamins and minerals. For example, strawberries, kiwis, oranges, broccoli, spinach, pumpkin, carrots, blueberries…
• An adequate supply of vitamin D seems to help alleviate the symptoms. We find it in the following foods: egg yolk, blue fish (anchovies, sardines, mackerel, tuna...), dairy products, mushrooms, mushrooms and foods enriched with this vitamin.

Good habits always help us mitigate these little disorders. In the event that we notice that this fatigue persists and that it is important, we should consult the doctor because it is no longer the type of disorder we are talking about (it may be, for example, iron deficiency anemia).

Pandemic fatigue

In these moments that we are living, we see what is called PANDEMIC FATIGUE (around 60% of Europeans suffer it), because of the confinement and the way of life that we lead due to the coronavirus. It is a condition that due to the limitations we live in and the handling of uncertainty (which we do not know how to do, and which generates anxiety), the long time we have been in this situation and not knowing when it will end, leads us to suffer a series of symptoms that define this fatigue as:

• Anguish and apathy
• Insomnia
• Stress
• Lack of vital meaning, it seems that life has no meaning
• Anhedonia, inability to enjoy our hobbies, the things we like.

What to do against pandemic fatigue?

• Take care of your diet, maintaining good habits (avoid alcohol, sugars, ultra-processed foods … Include fruit, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, oily fish …).
• Do a regular physical activity, if it is outdoors much better.
• Sleep well.
• Do activities that we like; old hobbies or start with new ones.
• Not paying attention to the news all day.
• Do yoga or meditation, very good activities to reduce stress.
• Socialize following health regulations; maintain contact with the people we love.

Let’s think that we are on the right track, that this has an end (not yet close, but it is coming) that is already there, and that we must continue to take care of ourselves!! Power to all!!!

Dra. Arantza López-Ocaña

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