Confession: I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to bad weather. If its overcast or raining outside I feel my energy dropping and become a lot less productive than usual. I’m not even going to talk about snow since the thought can ruin my mood!

So what do you do on one of these days? I spent years just kind of sulking and moving through in slow motion but started to work on different combinations of food, habits and supplements to see if any could really help me out and I did find a few.

First, I find that a good cup of coffee is important. The caffeine, as we know, causes a biochemical reaction that makes you feel happier. Now, I have coffee every single day so it doesn’t impact me the way it does others but I strategize differently on gloomy days. Normally, I have my first cup moments after my eyes open. On gloomy days though, I’ll try to get through everything I need in the morning like eating, cleaning and prepping for the day without touching my coffee. I’ll have some warm water and bit of lemon to get hydrated but will stave off of the coffee. Then, once I’m ready to rock – I’ll have my coffee. I find that depriving myself and holding off results in a bigger kick and more satisfying feeling that lifts me up.

The other thing that I’ll do is start my day with about 5,000 IU of Vitamin D. The amount of things that Vitamin D plays a role in is pretty vast but for the purpose of this article, I’ll note that it helps regulate your mood. All the better if you have a natural blue light in your house that emulates the sun (seasonal lights – they work…seriously).

The combo of vitamin D and coffee get me going and that’s something almost all of you should have access to. Use them in the way that I described and you’ll get a bit of a jump in the way you feel and look on gloomy days. As a bonus, you’ll want to get your hands on Lion’s Mane Mushroom! Trust me on this, don’t hesitate for a minute or put it off – Lion’s Mane Mushroom plays a critical role in neurological stimulation and neurogenesis (it’s good for your brain) to the point where its being researched as a possible treatment for diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease to name a few. When I take Lion’s Mane Mushroom, I feel like my mind is a lot more clear and I can’t tell you how much that means to me. I know the feeling of brain fog very well and absolutely detest it. It makes me feel like a zombie just going through the motions of my life but not being present. Lion’s Mane, particularly when combined with caffeine, is a game changer for me in that regard and an absolute must on gloomy days where I tend to feel a lot of brain fog and slow going. So beat bad weather, seasonal depression and everything else with these strategies. If you can meditate quietly for even 5 minutes when you wake up, all the better!