Geographical Features Along the Wasatch Front that Contribute to Depression and Anxiety

If you have depression or anxiety and you live along the Wasatch Front in Utah, know that you have company.  A Utah doctor that works with depression and heart disease told me that suicides, strokes, and heart attacks all rise when we have an inversion in Utah. (With suicide, rates actually rise in the Spring, I assume especially after a long and dreary winter.) My guess is that anxiety rises as well. It's also widely known that asthma rises dramatically during inversions. Long inversions can be pretty oppressive.  Unfortunately there are a number of geographical factors that set us up for these poor health conditions.  But education is power, so do not despair.  The good news is there are many things you can do to combat the problem!

• Inversion: I know it's not a secret that we often have yucky air, but did you know that we get inversions because we live in a Basin? The mountains can trap in the bad air.
• Sunlight: We have less sunlight due to the inversion, which is another thing we really need to combat depression.  Another problem we have is that most of the year the sun doesn't rise when we do.  From about September until May, we don't get early morning sunlight. (This is due to our latitude, another geographical factor.)
• Sunlight, Vitamin D: This topic is getting wide attention nowadays.  In Utah, we only get Vitamin D from the sun from May-October.  Our bodies can store Vitamin D in the summer, but some of us don't get out in the sun enough to have enough stores of Vitamin D. This can cause symptoms of depression.  (This is also due to latitude.)
• Altitude/Elevation: Because we're at a high elevation, there is less oxygen in the air. (Man, we're getting hit from all sides!) People living at high altitudes have lower blood oxygen levels, which is not good for depression or anxiety. So DO YOUR DEEP BREATHING!
• TO COMBAT THIS: This sounds counter-intuitive, but DEEP BREATHING helps a ton!  Some people buy air cleaners for their homes, some buy house plants. Of course fresh air is the best.  But the important thing is to do your deep breathing daily--yes, even if it's Utah air. (It's the only air we've got.) When it's a pretty day, get outside and breath deeply! Even better if you can do it by a stream or river with evergreen trees around.
• BRIGHT LIGHT THERAPY* This helps with two geographical factors in Utah. First, the yucky inversion sunlight. Second, the fact that we don't get sun first thing in the morning.
• Vitamin D supplements if needed*.
• AID THE BODY'S DETOXIFICATION PROCESS* 
• DEEP BREATHING.  Did I mention deep breathing :) ? 
• U of U Nutrition Professor, Rachel Jones, R.D., says it is extremely important to get proper nutrition in Utah because of the altitude. Eat foods that promote healthy oxygen levels!
• Share this information with blog article your friends and family.  (Maybe people will do things to help Utah's environment.)
• Be friend's with the world. Take comfort in knowing that the things you learn in the Nedley program will help you live on the Wasatch Front healthy and happy!

*Search this blog for further information in the following subjects: light therapy, detoxification,medical tests, further nutritional information, and art of living.