If you’re feeling extra tired, moody, depressed, or confused these days — you’re a person with a pulse living in the year 2020. But, these are also all signs of seasonal affective disorder (or, aptly, SAD). Just as we’re making our way to this long year’s finish line, SAD has arrived right on cue, making us more unmotivated by the minute.
However, science says there is something that can help improve our mood: changing what we eat. Giving new meaning to the term “comfort food,” the key to optimal mental health may lie with nutrition.
New research suggests when you eat and drink can also be critical. Not to depress you any further, but that “liquid life” in your coveted morning cup of joe? You may have been drinking it wrong this entire time.
Whether it’s pinpointing the perfect time to drink coffee or finding just the right mix of nutrients to keep your brain sane, the road to the good health may not begin with a single step — but with the first bite or sip.
In this episode of The Abstract, we discuss how what we eat and drink can keep our brains sane and our bodies running healthy.
Our first story explores the direct link between nutrition and mental health. As seasonal affective disorder takes its yearly toll, research suggests certain foods can help ease the “winter blues.”
Our second story pinpoints the perfect time to drink coffee. Found to influence the metabolism, your morning cup of joe can significantly affect your health over time — it just depends on how and when you take it.
Read the original Inverse stories:
- Feeling SAD? Why these foods might be the key to optimal mental health
- Science reveals the perfect time to drink coffee for a healthy metabolism
Where to find us:
- Subscribe to The Abstract wherever you listen to podcasts: iTunes | Spotify | TuneIn | RadioPublic | Stitcher
- Follow Sarah Sloat on Twitter
- Follow Ali Pattillo on Twitter
- We're hosted and produced by Tanya Bustos
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Right now, facts and science matter more than ever. That's part of the reason for The Abstract, this all-new podcast from the Inverse staff that focuses exclusively on science and innovation. Three new episodes are released a week, and each covers one theme via two related stories. Each features audio of original Inverse reporting, where the facts and context take center stage. It's hosted by the Tanya Bustos of WSJ Podcasts. Because we're Inverse, it's all true but slightly off-kilter. It's made for people who want to know the whole story. —Nick Lucchesi, executive editor, Inverse
