Beat the Winter Blues and Stay Active This Holiday Season
As the nights lengthen and the days are shorter, it’s easy to let your mood suffer as a result. There’s even a diagnosed condition for this called seasonal affective disorder (conveniently abbreviated to SAD), which is described as contributing to feelings of being lethargic, eating more, sleeping longer, and not being able to focus for very long.
To help you beat the winter blues, here are some suggestions to lift your spirits and get you moving again.
Go for Long Walks or a Hike
Depending on where you’re located or can travel to on the weekend, heading into the great outdoors changes your mindset almost immediately.
Instead of just being huddled up warm at home and not wanting to move from one spot, the act of putting on some hiking shoes (these are some really solid options) and heading out is a change for the better.
The fresh brisk air, the different vista and getting away from your problems back in civilization is sure to shake the cobwebs loose.
Increase the Indoor Light Level
The feeling of doom and gloom in the wintertime is often because we’re sensing the reduction in natural light. However, when that’s the case, you can always do something about that!
Add some additional lamps and up lights to the main rooms in the home. LED bulbs provide a natural light compared to other types of bulbs. Ensure that the rooms where you’ll spend the most time have sufficient lighting. Don’t sit in dimly lit rooms and wonder why your mood is low!
Manage Your Eating Better
When feeling subdued, it’s easy to go look in the refrigerator and find something else to eat. This is a practice that might have been something you stopped doing since dieting and losing weight or it could be something entirely new.
It’s important to be aware that with carbs, you get a bit of a high when consuming foods loaded with simple carbohydrates but then there’s the inevitable crash that follows. This is certainly true with candies and some sodas that are laden with sugar.
By moderating your eating and not binging while sedentary in front of the TV or laptop, you avoid grazing and overeating through the winter. It also avoids the inevitable weight gain that’ll follow this behaviour. Instead, when you feel this way, go walk around the block to get away from the food source. That’s usually enough to stop the cravings.
Get Out to Meet with Friends & Family
Meeting with other people in the wintertime can ward off low feelings and get your brain more active.
Stop thinking only about yourself and show concern about the lives of your friends and family; this takes you out of your head for a while. This is a bit like taking a well-earned vacation from yourself and is highly recommended.
Do Something You’ve Always Wanted to Do
To stay upbeat and keep things interesting, why not make a list of some of the things you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t got around to yet? Then pick one and give it a go!
While you may have to choose something that can be done in the wintertime and won’t be too cold, there are usually plenty of those ideas on the list. Exploring hobbies that you’ve not been able to try or going deeper into ones where you’ve barely scratched the surface can be invigorating. It’s like going on a brand-new adventure.
Whatever you do, don’t just sit there and let low feelings settle. Be active in your mind and body to shake those feelings off for good.
