adaptogens for winter resilience

keep productivity & mindset rolling through seasonal declines

while productivity, cerebral control and energy applies to everyone, the following information is geared to people who experience fatigue, motivation and productivity declines in the winter (or struggle year round). if you don't know what manifestation of stress impacts you the most, check out our stress manifestation guide.

winter has always been challenging for me. a dead (or dormant) landscape, less sunshine, cold weather and shorter days mess with my mental and physical energy. my stress goes up and productivity declines. i get depressed for seemingly no reason. when i was younger, i just rode the seasonal highs and lows and didn't make any real effort to keep energy steady and productive through the winter months.

some 10+ million americans reported having seasonal depression in 2019, and i would argue those numbers are much higher now. i would also argue that if you take out the word depression and replace it with energy and productivity decline, the numbers are higher than statistics can capture. i believe these terms can be used interchangeably for many people who float in and out of fatigue dominated stress.

i got tired of being a mope for several months of the year and i started having real responsibilities that weren't going to wait around for me to get my shit together. i wanted more out of life, so i needed to demand more of myself. this takes real time and effort (easier said than done), but there are many tools to help keep a steady and productive mindset. adaptogens and performance mushrooms are powerful tools to support smooth (cerebral) energy and the expanded bandwidth needed for consistent productivity.

these plant therapies are tools to help you do the work. despite the claims that many companies will make, adaptogens and performance mushrooms don't make productivity effortless. a hammer is just a tool. it won’t do the work for you, but it definitely makes driving a nail more efficient.

some quick definitions.

more energy is desirable, but without cerebral control, energy is often spent “spinning your wheels” on fruitless procrastination, unnecessary drama, unproductive worrying and ruminating on would have should have nonsense. it seems obvious to focus mental and physical energy on things that serve you and respond to problems with a forward mindset, but this is a challenging and never-ending effort for most (…me included).

since energy is not enough for productivity, we use bandwidth to describe the intentional, organized, and controlled energy required to take on the day’s challenges with progress towards an improved self (productivity).

we define productivity as a measure of effectively applied bandwidth. productivity can be anything that advances your sort or long-term goals. this can be personal or career goals. productivity can be taking care of the smallest daily tasks or taking big steps towards future goal, and everything in between. most importantly, productivity means you’re moving the needle forward on things that are objectively necessary or subjectively important to your experience in life.

productivity means something different at different stages of life. productivity can be spending more (intentional) time with your family and friends, it can be self-care, it can be yard work, it can be exercise, it can be meal prepping, it can be gardening, it can be job searching, etc. whatever you're doing, do it with intention.

more energy does not consistently translate into more productivity without organization and prioritization, which doesn't happen without consistent cerebral control.

the right combination of adaptogens and performance mushrooms promote the kind of cerebral energy that expands bandwidth to take on the day’s challenges with improved intention and focus. this expanded capacity also allows for more mistakes, setbacks, and other stressors before tipping into lower brain dominance (reactive mindset / fight or flight).

states of high tension or exhaustion don't leave much mental or physical space to take on new challenges or even process daily information through a consistenty productive lens. if you're consistently experiencing stress and fatigue, it's hard to get things going. high tension and exhaustion are unsustainable and will wear on your quality of life. by reducing the time spent in these disruptive states, adaptogens create more mental and physical bandwidth.

fatigue dominated stress. (smooth energy support)

high tension anxiety

maybe you don't experience more fatigue in the winter. some people experience higher levels of high tension anxiety during the winter. if you dont know where you land on the stress boundaries, refer to our "stress manifestation guide" or sign up for our next stress manifestation webinar.