Post-holiday blues

Suffering from a cast of the post-holiday blues? We’re here to here to make sure you feel awesome all autumn

We all know how much coming back from summer holidays can be depressing and stressful, sinking back into endless emails, boring household tasks and miserable weather but research has shown that it also has a negative effect on our concentration and mood levels in the work place. British Summer fruits conducted a study, which found that on average it takes Brits around four days to reach their usual level of productivity with lack of concentration being the worst side effect. In fact, nearly 17% of participants admitted to making silly mistakes on important tasks and missing deadlines. Yikes!

Post summer, as the need to be beach-body perfect passes we tend to let the pounds creep on. Leading nutritionist Dora Walsh says ‘low mood and low concentration are key symptoms of the post-holiday blues but a snack of sweets will only exacerbate this by giving people a sugar high and an almighty crash soon after’.

But don’t panic, we have pulled together a list of top tips to beat these negative symptoms, stop you from piling on the pounds and actually improve your productivity at work.

Watch your snacks

Resist the temptation to snack on a chocolate bar and instead prepare a bowl of healthy fruit with a spoon of natural yogurt in advance. Dora recommends including lots of berries as ‘they are high in resveratrol polyphenols, which keep our blood flowing to the brain – essential when trying to catch up on a week’s work and battle the dreaded email inbox.

Use your holiday to give your daily routine a boost

Elaine Magee, Doctor for WebMD’s weight-loss clinic says that a holiday can actually kick start a healthy eating routine, ‘usually, whilst away you eat out a lot so when you come home, everyone is looking forward to home-cooked meals. So embrace that and use it for motivation into cooking healthy meals rich in vitamins and nutrients’.

Try these speedy recipes to get you in the mood.

Avocado supreme

½ avocado – rich in omega-6 fats, great for brain function

Handful of prawns

Buckwheat noodles – packed with vitamin B for a healthy nervous system

Chopped garlic

Simply mix all the above together.

Blueberry brain booster smoothie

1 cup of blueberries – increase blood flow to the brain for increased concentration

1 banana – tryptophan is a precursor to serotonin and melatonin, so helps boost your mood

2 cups of oat milk

1 pinch of cinnamon – helps to regulate blood sugar

1 tablespoon of manuka honey – great for your immunity

1 scoop of whey powder – helps keeps you full and boosts muscle recovery

Get some early nights
Don’t overdo it as you step off the plane and avoid scheduling in lots of social activities the week you get back in favour of an early night. Lack of sleep affects so many aspects of our lives and by getting in the zzzs you’ll be much more alert at work without having to reach for the caffeine.

Take your lunch break

Despite the heavy workload, remember to take your lunch break and get away from your desk. One of the reasons why we feel so great when we are on holiday is because we are outdoors much more than usual, so get out and spend more time in natural daylight as it will help to boost the levels of happy endorphins in your brain.

Get active

Surprisingly, most people don’t put weight on while away because they tend to be more active –such as walking around tourist attractions, running after children or swimming in the sea. So use this as motivation to start including more exercise in your life, whether it’s walking instead of getting the bus halfway or increasing the number of times you hit the gym, not only will it keep you fit but it boosts your energy and mood levels.