As new leaves sprout and flowers start to bloom, people realize spring is already here. Even though there is a great temperature difference between day and night, many people are glad that the weather is getting warmer. In fact, people are ready to enjoy the warm breezes and the bright sunshine of spring. However, as we celebrate the arrival of spring, we find an uninvited guest waiting for us: Spring Fever.

Spring fever is commonly described as a psychological condition consisting of symptoms such as weariness during spring season. According to statistics, the majority of the population in Korea suffers from varying degrees of spring fever. Although spring fever is commonly considered to be a minor illness, continuously neglecting its symptoms can cause more severe types of chronic conditions such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Depression. To prevent any further progression of spring fever, one should try to recover while it is not too late. Scientists have found several ways of getting over spring fever: doing light exercise, getting enough sleep, and eating regularly.

The first way of overcoming spring fever is doing light exercises on a daily basis. In spring, light exercises are much better for your body than intense exercise. Light exercise strengthens your blood circulation and helps your body get enough energy to fight off the weariness. When you exercise, it is important to do so frequently and little by little because doing more work than you can handle can cause you to burn out quickly and quit exercising.

Getting enough sleep is also helpful for people who are afflicted with spring fever. Experts say that it is good for your body to get at least seven hours of sleep a day. If you do not get enough sleep, you are likely to have loss of appetite and irritability in addition to excessive tiredness. To keep you from these kinds of problems, you need to accustom yourself to a regular bedtime and waking schedule since irregular life patterns are the fundamental cause of sleep deprivation causing weariness. People tend to oversleep on weekends to make up for their lack of sleep and fatigue that built up during the week, but it only makes their symptoms worse and does nothing to ease the symptoms of spring fever.

The last thing you can do to get over spring fever is to eat your meals regularly and on time. Many people skip breakfasts but doing so causes people to overeat at lunch. If you eat too much food at lunch time, you will find yourself dozing off in the afternoon and having a lack of concentration for the rest of the day. Eating your meals on time is as important as eating breakfast. If you are too busy to have breakfast or eat your meals, start to carry little snacks so you can hold off your hunger. That way, you can prevent overeating which will relieve sleepiness or weariness.

To sum up, you can fight off spring fever simply by living a regular life. There is nothing special about the remedies of spring fever; you just need to take care of yourself, especially your health. A small change can make a big difference in your life. In today's society, people who strive for success are too busy to focus on themselves and they often forget that health is the top priority of our lives; you cannot be happy if you are not healthy even though you succeed in your life. Do not forget that good health is the greatest possession you can have.

Kim Ju-Eun(Reporter)

20113412@kookmin.ac.kr