We all know that the winter months are hard. The dark, cold mornings and nights making it harder to get out of bed and stay up past a certain time. On top of all that, many people have seasonal affective disorder (SAD) that makes them feel depressed during these months. Even if you don’t have SAD, the long winter days may still drag you down. There are things you can do to ease that though.
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Making It Through The Winter Months
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Get Vitamin D Supplements
Due to the dark mornings and nights, we are naturally getting less vitamin D than we do during the sunnier months. This can cause a dip in mood and make us feel low. These days you can get vitamin D supplements in a few different ways. Tablets, gummies, and drops. Since we have more variety of ways we can take these, it means that if you aren’t great at taking tablets it doesn’t matter. You can get drops or gummies. In my experience, the gummies have a really nice taste and I highly recommend giving them a try.
Get Outside In The Sun
Although there is less sun during the wintery months, it is still there during the day. As stated above, the sun provides us with vitamin D. Try to get out in the sun as much as possible. If nothing else, getting outside and going for a walk will help you move around and that will naturally make you feel better whether the sun shows itself or not. Of course, if it’s pouring down with rain, you can give it a miss and stay cozy inside watching a film.
Set Your Heating On A Timer During The Winter Months
When you feel the cold coming, it’s time to set your heating on a timer (if that’s an option for you). Set the heating to come on about an hour before you’re due to get up so it’s nice and cozy. Otherwise, it will be cold outside your duvet and make you want to stay in bed for longer. It’s also important to set it to come on before going to bed as well so you can sleep better. Remember, though, to change it back when things start to heat up again.
Keep Up With Your Exercise Routine
It’s so tempting on a cold winter’s evening after work to sit in a blanket on your sofa watching Netflix, but I urge you to keep your normal exercise routine going. Exercise is proven to help with low moods. Of course, you’re allowed a break every now and then, especially during the holidays, but once Christmas and New Year have passed try and get yourself back into your old routine (or make a new one). Personally, I installed a step counting app that also tracks when I use the exercise bike to motivate me.
Continue Socialising
As we’re currently stuck in a lockdown in many different countries, this is more important than ever. Normally we have Christmas or birthday parties to look forward to, but we don’t even have that now. Make sure you’re reaching out to your friends, making sure they’re okay, and organising social activities no matter what they look like. From zoom quizzes to online gaming sessions, there are plenty of things you can do to make the cold nights go that little bit quicker.
Buy Cozy Clothing
This might sound obvious, but I see so many people walking around wearing incredibly thin jumpers in the cold. it goes without saying the being outside in the cold is more pleasant when you have warmer clothes on. You can get thermal trousers and thermal tops to wear underneath your clothes to keep you warm. Thermals are great for long walks outside. You should also invest in warm hats, scarves, gloves, and strong winter boots to keep the rest of you warm.
Keep A Regular Sleep Schedule
As it’s getting lighter later and darker earlier, it can be tempting to either go to bed earlier or get up later. Don’t do this. Try to go to bed at the same time every night and limit the consumption of screentime from your phone, computer, or TV. Set an alarm for the same time each morning as well. If you’re in a good sleep routine it will be easier for you to get up each day. The other side of this is that if you are well-rested you’re more likely to have better mood levels overall. You’ll also have more energy to get your day-to-day tasks done.
Stay In A Good Routine
Many of us take holidays in the winter months over the Christmas and New Year period. These holidays often lead to us falling out of our everyday routines. With many of us now working from home (possibly on a more permanent basis), it’s important that we not only keep a good routine but keep our self-motivation levels up. It’s natural to sleep in a bit on the weekends and go to bed a bit later, but try to at least eat at the same time. As stated above, try and go to bed at the same time each weeknight to keep our natural body clock on the routine too. Keeping a strong routine will help us get up in the morning with a fair idea of what the day is going to look like, meaning we gain some motivation.
Find Some Nice Comforting Recipes
Comfort food is a must during the cold months, but comfort doesn’t always mean junk. One of the best things about winter is the wonderful comforting foods over Christmas, but why stop there? There are plenty of recipes you can utilize all season long. From vegetable stews to a good bolognese, you can make some great foods that make you feel great without your waistline suffering. I’ll be posting my lentil bolognese recipe up on the blog soon. If you like hot drinks, you should also treat yourself to some nice coffees and hot chocolates to keep you going.
Stock Up On Nice Candles
There is nothing better than cozying up in your home watching something on TV with some candles on after a long day at work. Not only will your home smell amazing, but you’ll also create a cozy atmosphere that is nice and comfortable to be in. This will help you feel happier in your home and forget that it’s the middle of the winter months. I personally recommend the Black Cherry Yankee Candle, it smells amazing and lasts a long time.
These are great tips on dealing with this kind of weather. We really should keep up with our exercises routine and continue being productive this season even though this weather makes us all want to sit down on our couch or lying down on our bed.
Thank you for commenting. Yes, all I want to do is sit in a cozy blanket and watch TV haha!
Yes yes yes to vitamin D! It can be so important, especially here in the UK when sun is hard to come by. I actually take it all year round and it’s made such a difference 🙂 thank you for sharing x
I also take it all year round now! It’s so important
These were all great tips! A big yes to nice candles, comfy clothes and comfy food! Also exercising has been such a breath of fresh air for me during lockdown (things i thought i would never say)! Thank you for sharing x
I am the same with exercise, can’t believe how much I’m actually enjoying it
All great points. One thing that stands out for me is that I used to exercise so much like three times a week. However, I try to use Fitness Blender on YouTube.
Thank you. I’ve not heard of Fitness Blender before, will have to check it out
Keeping to a regular sleep schedule is one that I really need to try and do as I’m an insomniac! I also try to get out and about in the sun when I can x
I’m an insomniac too! Trying to get a handle on it and keep a more regular sleeping pattern. Thanks for commenting
These are all brilliant ideas. Comfy clothes and candles are a staple here in the Winter months.
My mum just bought me an oodie and I’ve never been so cozy and comfy. Definitely a must for the cold weather.
I actually just happened to buy myself some Vitamin D supplements the other day and I’m excited to see if I start to notice a difference in my mood. I will have to try some of the other tips as well!
I definitely noticed a difference, however small that difference was. It’s one of those things I didn’t notice until my partner pointed out I’d had more energy.
I am not a big fan of winter. All I want to do is hibernate until it’s warm again. These tips are perfect for me, especially to keep socializing. I tend to isolate more in the winter and it is not healthy for me, especially now. Thank you so much for sharing such helpful tips!
I was just telling my partner that all I want to do is hibernate! I often forget to socialize during winter, it’s the one out of this list I really need to work on!
Daily sunshine and exercise are so important! As a Wisconsinite I can confirm that these tips work, haha. Good post!
Thank you for commenting, I’ve definitely found both of those to be the most helpful this year.
This is such a helpful post! Winter can be such a tough season, and I find that keeping to my normal routine and eating warm meals really help!
Warm meals is something I only added to my list recently. It definitely works wonders!
These are excellent tips! I wish our home had a heater that I could put a timer on! It would be life changing. Luckily, it doesn’t take too long for the room to heat up once I turn it on! Soups are my favourite to have for basically all meals in the winter. So comforting and satisfying! Thanks for sharing x
http://www.lynnmumbingmejia.com
I have only had a timer for.my heater for about a year and it really does change things. Yes! I love a good soup in winter.
I take Vitamin D everyday (for medical reasons) and it’s so important for everyone to try and do the same during the winter months! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Vitamin D is so much more important than people realise! Thanks for commenting
Great ideas, trying to keep the sleep schedule is what I’m trying to do now. Thank you for sharing. I’m going to consider the rest of things on the list.
Great tips. I usually really like Winter and I’m LOVING the snow at the moment. But this year I’m definitely craving a bit of warmth and sunshine. With the pandemic as well, I think last Summer it was a lot easier when we could chill outside in the sun!
Yeah, the pandemic is making it a lot harder this year. Being in lockdown also make it easier to slip in to bad habits
Oooh it is so important to take care of yourself, especially during the winter. Getting enough vitamins is a must! Oooh I love the idea of socializing – it can get lonely, so we need to surround ourselves somehow. Thanks for sharing all of these tips!
Nancy ✨ mdrnminimalists.com
Thank you for commenting. Definitely vital to get the right vitamins