HOW TO BEAT THE WINTER BLUES

The winter blues can affect anyone, and it's easy to find ourselves in January staring down the barrel of another three to four months of cold, dark and wintery days and feel a little down in the dumps about it. 

I know that I am certainly affected by SAD (season affective disorder), I struggle in the winter months and am often lethargic and not as proactive and productive as I am in warmer months. But as I live in a climate that has long winters I have had to develop some of my own strategies to beat the winter blues, so I thought I would share them with you. 

Aromatherapy 

Physical Activity

Exercise is such an important part of my day and without it, I find that I start to go a little stir crazy without it. Exercise is great for boosting your mood and getting the endorphins going, and I try to walk outside as much as possible. Just make sure you wrap up warm against the cold weather if you're outside! 

A healthy sleep routine

I love my sleep, and when my sleep is out of sync I certainly feel it. By keeping a good sleep routine, even in winter, you'll give yourself a fighting chance of starting your day rested. This means trying to go to bed at the same time each night and waking up at the same time in the morning. Keep your bedroom a technology-free zone if you can (if your partner likes to binge on Netflix when they go to bed then I recommend getting an eye mask and earplugs).

Eat well

Just because it's winter and we have the urge to hibernate doesn't mean we should let our diet fall to the wayside. Keeping up with our healthy eating habits will help to kick the lethargy away that is often created by our tendency to overindulge in the winter months. 

Posted originally by Sophie Barrow on January 24, 2020