As the wind grows ever harsher and colder, we must bundle ourselves up against the winter season. Yes, it’s a time of giving and celebrating, but it’s also a time when we’re susceptible to things like winter blues and nasty colds! If you follow these helpful tips, you can ensure you’re enjoying the winter in a happy and healthy way.
1. Adjust Routine for Winter
Winter makes for some of the harshest months of the year, but that doesn’t mean you should let it get to you. It’s important to maintain a routine even when winter is well underway. Being cooped up at home does seem promising, but we assure you that that satisfying feeling isn’t going to last very long. Pretty soon, your monotonous lifestyle at home will start getting on your nerves too!
For example, why not take advantage of the bitter cold by treating yourself to a hot cup of coffee or cocoa from your local café? You can drop by before or after work. You can also shift your evening walks to afternoon walks so you can spend a day out in the sun instead of shivering in the cold.
2. Adjust Workout for Winter
Besides adjusting your routine for winter, it’s also important to adjust your healthy workout. You can’t exactly go jogging or swimming when everything’s cold! On the other hand, not working out during the winter is also bad—you always have to keep things moving.
The cold temperatures make it prime time to do some high-intensity workouts that’ll get your body sweating. Just make sure you take ample time to warm up those muscles—they’re more susceptible to cramps and soreness when it’s cold. Aside from that, put on some extra layers if you’re doing outdoor activities—have moisture-wicking, insulating, and element-protecting layers.
3. Have a Normal Sleep Schedule
Having a regular sleep schedule will ensure you’re consistent even with the changing times. If you let yourself sleep in or stay up too long, you risk becoming groggier and lazier. You could also develop mood swings and even depression if your sleep schedule changes too much.
Lack of sleep has long been associated with a wealth of adverse health effects. It messes around with your hormones and gives you problems with digestion, cognitive function, mobility, and more. Over time, these problems can develop into something more serious like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
4. Get Some Sunshine
During the wintertime, it seems like the sun is hibernating too. So, in the rare moments the sun does make an appearance, take full advantage of it! You don’t even have to step outside—opening the blinds during the daytime can let some of that coveted sunshine in.
Sunshine and light in general can help shoo away the winter blues and make you healthy. It increases your serotonin levels and makes you feel good to be awake. Indeed, one of the remedies for seasonal affective disorder is light therapy! Light also helps regulate your sleep schedule, further preventing mood swings from getting to you.
5. Connect with Loved Ones
Another way to stave off the winter blues is by having a healthy support system. With the advent of technology, staying connected with your loved ones is so much easier these days. You can host virtual game nights with your friends, call a long-distance family member, and even meet some new friends on online forums.
And you don’t have to stay connected just online either. You can make plans with your loved ones to head outside. Why not try out a new restaurant, visit a museum, or roam around in the park? Heck, you can even do these activities by yourself. All that matters is that you’re socializing and interacting with society.
6. Help One Another
The winter season is also the perfect time to extend a helping hand to underprivileged people. It makes you feel good to help these people feel warm, cared for, well-fed, and more because you feel like you’re contributing to society.
Volunteer work is known to do a lot of good for your mental health. It helps to reduce stress, ramp up your confidence, and release feel-good energy. And with how lonely winter can be for people in need, we’re sure the people you’re helping out appreciate the gesture as well!
Nothing gets you in the holiday spirit more than sharing your blessings with other people.
7. Do Some of Your Favorite Hobbies
Having some time for relaxation is crucial during the wintertime. With all that extra time inside, you can do lots of indoor activities that will reduce stress, release feel-good hormones, improve cognitive function, and help you bond with your loved ones. Why not try out a new board game, or experiment with crafts you’ve never done before? Why not do a new exercise routine, or cook a meal that’s entirely new to you?
Outdoor activities can also be done as long as you cozy up beforehand. Indeed, wintertime is the only time of the year when you can play around in the snow (if you live in an area with snow).
8. Have Healthy Snacks and Drinks Around for the Winter
It’s okay to take things easy with your diet during the holiday season, but be careful not to go off the deep end. You should still have some healthy snacks and drinks around you when you have the case of the munchies during the winter. This will prevent you from gaining too much weight when winter passes and will also help you get back into the swing of things physically.
This is especially important because the winter blues can make you crave unhealthy foods. Eating unhealthy foods will only worsen your mood swings, so even if the thought of eating healthy foods makes you sad, your body will thank you for it.
9. Take Vitamin D Supplements
Because of the lack of sunlight during the winter time, your vitamin D levels can fall dramatically. This presents a problem because vitamin D is crucial for strengthening your immune system. It’s also critical for your bones, helping your system to retain calcium and phosphorus. You’ll need that strong immune system and bones during the wintertime, so don’t let those vitamin D levels go down!
Supplements can’t replace getting vitamin D from food or the sun, but it’s better than nothing if you’ve got no other alternative. Just make sure to consult with your doctor before taking any health supplements—there are some risks of taking supplements willy-nilly as they can interfere with other medications or expose you to some hassling side effects.
10. Get Your Flu Shots and Boosters
In this article, we’ve been focusing more on what you can do for your mental health during the winter. But your physical health should also be a priority. You can’t have great mental health if something with your physical health is lacking!
People are more likely to develop respiratory infections during the winter season. Couple that with COVID-19 still going around, and there’s a high chance you’ll catch a cold because of the weather! Because of that, you need to stay on top of your shots. Get vaccinated against COVID-19 if you haven’t already, and get some flu shots so your immune system is well-equipped to fight off any viruses sent your way.
