Three Spring Resets
The calendar says it’s spring! Where I live, the outdoor conditions haven’t quite caught up yet. But we’re close. So close. It’s time to make plans for a Spring Reset!
I live in the north, just an hour’s drive south of the Canadian border. Winter is a long season here. It’s ok. We’re used to it. It’s not hard to imagine, though, that a couple hundred years ago things would have been quite different.
Imagine life in the northern plains 200 years ago during a harsh winter. Lacking some of the conveniences we have come to rely on: central heat, indoor plumbing, electricity, weather forecasting. Trees are not plentiful here on the plains, either for building materials or for heat. Frigid weather can persist for months, along with significant snowfall. Careful planning was a must in order to make it through to spring with enough food and sufficient heat.
I can about imagine the anticipation the earlier people must have felt. Warmer days bring the opportunity to enjoy the morning sun on your face, walk barefoot on the earth, and harvest the first fresh greens you’ve seen in months. Such abundant luxury! A spring reset! For free!
We can do it, too. With a bit of attention to the change of seasons, we can do our own spring reset. Kind of like spring cleaning for our wonderful bodies. It can be simple or deep, depending on what you want to accomplish. Regardless, there are certain things available to nearly everyone, at low cost and high value. Here are three.
Spring Reset #1: Enjoy the morning sun!
Nearly everyone enjoys the feel of the morning sun on their face. Regardless of circumstances, the sun is available to just about everyone, and it’s free. If you’re unable to get outside, then please do your best to find a window. Pure sunshine is the ultimate spring reset.
For those of us with the liberty to go outdoors in the early morning, that’s an ideal time. Early morning sun helps set your body’s circadian rhythm, and it’s not so strong as to burn fair skin.
Most people think of vitamin D levels when they think of the health benefits of sunlight. Indeed, a healthy person will metabolize vitamin D from sunlight, lighter-skinned people absorbing more than those with darker skin. We’ll save an in-depth discussion of vitamin D for another day. However most agree that the active form 1,25(OH)D supports health, specifically calcium and phosphorus levels, various metabolic functions, and bone mineralization.¹
Sun exposure has a number of additional benefits besides vitamin D metabolism. It increases production of the melatonin precursor, serotonin, leading to a positive outlook coupled with calm, focused energy. Early morning sun exposure also functions as a “stop” marker for nighttime melatonin production, leading to a healthier sleep pattern overall. Finally, sunlight exposure modulates the immune system, supports production of melanocyte-stimulating hormone (which decreases during certain instances of chronic inflammation), and positively affects mood by increasing blood levels of endorphins.¹
One of the easiest and least costly spring reset strategies for most of us, by far, is to step outside into the light and enjoy a reasonable amount of sun exposure. Preferably in the morning. Not so much as to produce a burn.
Spring Reset #2: Walk barefoot on the earth
Physicians and researchers Karol Sokal, MD, PhD and Pawel Sokal, MD, PhD hypothesized that “regulating factors that are universal in nature, … the action of which could be disturbed by contemporary civilization”² might be responsible for some of the chronic ill health they were observing in clinical practice. Observing that many of us have gotten away from frequent connection with the earth, they further hypothesized that the earth’s charge might be one such factor.
In order to explore their hypothesis, they conducted a study in which they measured certain physiological responses to “Earthing” which, for the sake of consistency, they arranged through use of a grounding device. They connected a copper plate attached to the subject’s leg to a second plate placed on moistened earth outdoors. The subjects slept in this fashion.
The results indicated that the Earthed subjects had changes in:
- calcium-phosphate homeostasis (consistent with a decrease in bone mineral loss pattern associated with osteoporosis)
- concentration of electrolyte minerals
- increase in the T4 thyroid hormone (free thyroxin), increase in TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone), and decrease in the T3 thryoid hormone (free tri-iodothyronine); this is consistent with an increase in metabolic rate
- decreased serum glucose levels in a group of patients with non-insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes
- increased immune response (triggered by administration of a vaccine during the experiment)²,³
This complex research was meant to investigate the positive effects of something that you can most likely do for free (once the snow melts, if that applies in your area): walk barefoot on the earth. Or lie on it. Sit in a chair and watch a movie with your bare feet on the ground. Whatever works best in your situation.
Spring Reset #3: Make friends with the lowly dandelion
In the many parts of the world where dandelions grow, they tend to be prolific. They’re easy to come by. In my area, the pretty yellow flower is one of the first signals that spring has really arrived.
Good news. Dandelion is edible! All parts may be eaten as food. If you (or someone you know) has a healthy crop, and presuming no herbicide has been applied, you can add a few tasty young leaves to your next salad.
Dandelion has also been used traditionally as an herbal medicine. The root is often used for liver support, the leaf for digestive support and as a diuretic. Dandelion has also been studied for anti-inflammatory and immune modulating properties. The root may be brewed into a tea or tinctured.
Dandelion leaf, when eaten as a food, is a nutritional powerhouse. It contains potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamins A and C, and the B vitamins thiamine and riboflavin.⁴
Perhaps you have a non-sprayed yard or garden that sports these beautiful plants. If so, harvest freely. If not, you may be lucky enough to have a neighbor who does not apply herbicides. (Like me!) If so, I’m guessing they’d be happy to have you stop by and carefully dig to your heart’s content. Or failing that, if you live in an area where dandelions do not grow abundantly, you can very reasonably purchase dried dandelion root from a company such as Frontier Natural Products and brew tea or make a tincture.
A deeper approach
So there you go. Three spring reset options for little to no cost and potentially high value. I encourage everyone who has the ability to utilize these to do so.
Perhaps you’re ready for a deeper approach, too. Spring is also a great time for a general assessment, and in particular, for optimizing digestive health. If this sounds like something you may be interested in, I encourage you to consider a Functional Nutrition Consultation. If this speaks to you, I’d be happy to hear from you to discuss an individualized one-on-one program.
¹ Mead, M. N. (2008). Benefits of Sunlight: A Bright Spot for Human Health. Environmental Health Perspectives, 116(4), A160–A167.
² Sokal, K. and Sokal, P. (2011). Earthing the Human Body Influences Physiologic Processes. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 17:4, 301-308.
³ Oschman, J. L. (2011). Chronic Disease: Are We Missing Something? The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 17:4, 283-285.
⁴ Mir, M. Amin, Sawhney, S. S., Jassal, M. M. S. (2013) Qualitative and quantitative analysis of phytochemicals of Taraxacum officinale. Wudpecker Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmocology, vol. 2(1), pp. 001 – 005.
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