6 Tips to Get through the Winter & Beyond
By: Amina Qutub
Tags: Health, Resilience, Motivation, Brain, Fitness

Cognitive Hygiene:

Amina Ann Qutub, PhD and Erin Pollet, RPSGT

Sisu. The Finnish people use the term to mean “extraordinary determination in the face of extreme adversity.” It is a powerful mindset that enables mental and physical strength beyond what was thought possible. Sisu is getting us through the winter.

Still, we’re battle-weary. 2020 derailed routines, including habits that protect our brains and bodies. Stay-at-home orders and more stringent lockdowns are buying time before a vaccine halts the spread of SARS-CoV-2, at the same time straining resolve. A trick to cultivating Sisu is to adopt habits that provide the foundation for resilience.

Our brains repair themselves when we sleep, clearing out toxins and rearranging connections between cells. A small unit of the brain (shown) called the suprachiasmatic nucleus controls our wake and sleep cycle.

Good quality sleep and exercise help support resilience, cognitive reserve and long-term brain health [1–5]. Compounded daily, healthy habits can become more powerful than prescription drugs and even combat genetic predisposition to cognitive decline [1]. When we sleep, the brain repairs itself — flushing out toxins and waste through the glymphatics [6] and cerebral spinal fluid [7], rearranging synaptic connections between cells, and solidifying memories through molecular changes [8–10]. Exercise too has incredible rejuvenating effects. As we exercise, our brain secretes growth factors, bathing neurons in nutrients that promote their growth and function [11–17]. With sustained exercise, new blood vessels grow in response to molecular sensors of low oxygen tension and carve out new routes for oxygen to reach brain tissue [18].

As researchers tracking daily habits that support brain health, we bear witness to the decline or resilience of volunteers through their sleep and exercise [19]. Below are six tips to support brain health this winter and beyond. Tips 1–3 were curated by sleep specialist and graduate student Erin Pollet:

Tip 1: Get out in the sun in the morning

Exposure to sunlight during the day, especially in the morning, improves quality of sleep at night [20]. Lack of morning sunlight in their bedroom was correlated to sleep disturbances in a recent study of young to mid-aged employees [21]. Relatedly, a study of nursing home residents showed a significant improvement in reported sleep among residents who spent at least 30 minutes outside in their gardens between 8 and 10 am [22]. Opening up blinds and curtains in your home upon waking up and taking your morning coffee outside is an easy way to make sure that you are resetting your internal clock. If you live in an area that does not get a lot of sunlight during this time of year, UV light lamps can provide an alternative.

Tip 2: Maintain a consistent sleep schedule

Since the start of the pandemic, bedtimes and wake times have shifted later, napping has increased, and overall sleep quality has decreased [23]. Working from home may mean a laxer schedule making it harder to maintain consistency in wake/sleep cycles. Lockdowns have been associated with disrupted sleep routines around the world. In an Italian study, 55% of subjects reported poor sleep quality during lockdown [24] and our May survey of 267 people in the U.S. indicated over a third of respondents had less consistent sleep during stay-at-home orders. With many factors out of our control, one way to encourage better sleep is to set a consistent — and early — bedtime. A review of 41 scientific articles on earlier and less variable bedtimes was correlated with better health outcomes [25].

Tip 3: Avoid screens in the hours before bedtime

Avoiding screens (phones, computers, TVs) before bed confers many benefits. (1) Short wave light from devices (blue light), no matter how low they are set, physiologically disrupts the mechanics of sleep [26]. (2) Studies have shown that increased social media use can lead to later and more variable bedtimes, especially in teens and young adults [27]; and (3) stress in general has a negative impact on sleep [28]. With the almost daily assault of negative world news, limiting consumption to earlier in the day can help mitigate its effect later on in the night. Shutting off screens well before bedtime may even help in weight maintenance [29].

Tip 4: Head outdoors to exercise

Natural environments can boost brain health [30]. People who exercise for at least two hours a week outside score better on measures of mental health than those with less outdoor exposure [31]. A pandemic study in Spain reported that people with access to outdoor spaces or even just blue-green elements in their view had more positive emotions and perceived themselves better able to cope with lockdown measures [32]. These observations align with prior studies that support the benefits of “green time” for mental health [33, 34]. Outdoor environments can also improve physical fitness. One study in school children concluded that two years of outdoor exercise conferred significant speed, power and endurance advantages to indoor exercise [35]. Hiking in a preserve, jump-roping on a porch, or even just exercising with a window (or screen) view of trees or fresh snow are ways to take in more nature.

Tip 5: Make exercise social

Combining multiple positive habits (e.g., exercise, social engagement, high quality sleep, good diet, learning) can confer up to 60% more protection against cognitive risks than adopting one alone [36]. Social engagement supports brain health, and coupling exercising with socializing can magnify both their effects. However, 2020 chipped away at positive social interactions. See where you stand by taking a shortened Lubben Social Network Scale quiz. Small changes can make exercise more social.

A few examples:

Tip 6: Turn Zombies into Zoomies

Pandemic lockdowns make cities look like Zombie apocalypses. Except the Zombies move inside. As we quarantine, work or learn from home, screen-time is increasing [37], and with it, time spent sedentary [38]. Imagine a video camera recording you all day. Are your eyes glazed over, glued to a phone, computer or TV monitor? Sitting for extended periods can lob off years from your life [39–41], and many people are sedentary for 8 hours or more each day [41]. Even if you have a dedicated exercise routine, moving regularly throughout the day provides health benefits. Aim for at minimum 30 minutes of moderate to highly active minutes. Stealth exercise built into daily chores (e.g., cleaning, building, gardening) or work (e.g., a bike desk) is one way to increase activity. Habit-conducive tricks like always taking a walk after coffee, tracking your fitness, or laying out a pair of running shoes before bed can make taking more steps easier. Or you can take a cue from animals who love to run, and zoom around between video calls. Ever seen a puppy go crazy with pent up energy? This frenetic random activity is appropriately called “zoomies.” A jump-rope, rebounder, stepper, or space to do a few pushups can help for humans. Or turn up the music and have a one-song dance party!

A final note on cultivating Sisu: Most people know that good quality sleep and exercise help the body and brain. Telling people to increase both in the face of sheer exhaustion is like telling a marathoner as they cross the finish line, “Oops, sorry, one more mile left.” Chronic psychological stress effects the body in ways that overlap with smoking or exposure to high altitude, where atmospheric oxygen is lower. It may feel harder to exercise. But like training in high altitude, sustained or increased activity can counteract the negative effects of stress on our cells [42]. Over time, exercising in high altitude confers evolutionary advantages, protecting tissues including the brain [43–45].

2020 vacuum-packed adversity. Continuing the analogy of exercising in thin air, much of the world has been training in intermittent hypoxia [46]. Your family, like ours, may have lost loved ones, or faced economic, health, or mental hardships that leave you exhausted. This is when it’s easiest to give up on healthy habits. Instead, dig deep. Move a little more, a little faster or both. Go good air hunting outside. Sleep soundly.

Sisu is how we are getting out of this. The steps that we take this day and daily habits we form this winter can help protect our minds and bodies for years to come.

Credits: images created with bioRender.

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