health
10 Winter Wellness Tips To Get You Through The Season
Staying healthy in all seasons is important, but the winter can feel difficult! Here are some tips to help you through the cold season.
Each season of the year brings about new things to look forward to: the newness of spring, the warm weather and vacations of summer, the colorful leaves and crisp temperatures in the fall, and winter’s potential for fresh white snow. However, all seasons bring with them some unique challenges, including challenges to your health and wellness. Many report feeling sluggish or having a lowered mood in the wintertime, which can get in the way of feeling your healthiest.
If you want to help fight the winter blues and ensure that you make this winter season your healthiest yet, here are ten of the best wellness tips to consider.
1. Stay Hydrated: Inside and Out!
In the cold winter temperatures, the air can not only be chilly but also very dry. Couple this with the fact that winter often brings colds and sinus congestion—causing many to breathe through their mouths—and you have a recipe for dehydration. To keep yourself hydrated both inside and out, make sure you’re drinking adequate water. Additionally, invest in a high-quality lip balm or petroleum jelly to keep dry flaky lips at bay. You’ll also want to make sure you have a great body and hand lotion on hand to avoid itchiness and irritation from the dry weather. Make sure to especially apply this lotion when getting out of the shower or bath!
2. Find Ways to Keep Active
In the winter time, many can feel more physically tired than in other seasons, causing them to resist exercise. The fact that it can be cold, dreary, or snowy out doesn’t make it much easier motivate yourself to get outside or to drive to the gym. However, it will only cause more exhaustion if you don’t keep yourself active. Try to find ways to keep yourself active from the comfort of your home. If you’re at a loss of what to try out at home, take to YouTube for some fun HIIT workouts with minimal equipment needed, or check out our list of 10 effective workout moves you can do from home.
3. Allow Your Body to Rest Adequately
This should go for all seasons, but making sure you’re getting enough sleep every night is vital in the winter. Sickness and germs thrive in the winter, with many illnesses being seasonal. Getting enough rest helps your body heal from illness and also helps strengthen your immune system to avoid getting sick in the first place. As an added bonus, sleep can help boost your mood and keep you more focused and productive at work.
4. Get Your Flu Shot
Along the lines of avoiding getting sick, getting your flu shot annually is a surefire way to avoid being miserable in bed for a week with the flu. Flu shots are often free and can be scheduled through your pharmacy or doctor’s office. Speak with your doctor first if you have any concerns about the contents of the shot or its effectiveness. If you start feeling a cold or flu coming on, you may also be able to take some natural supplements like zinc and echinacea to help thwart the symptoms.
5. Keep Up With Personal Hygiene
Keeping up with your personal hygiene is another must for the winter season. Wash your hands frequently to kill germs and help stop the spread of sickness and illness. Make sure you’re washing your hands for at least 20 seconds and using a strong, anti-bacterial soap and water. You should also make sure you’re wiping down surfaces and high-touch areas like door knobs with regularity.
6. Eat a Balanced Diet
In the winter, it can feel like all your favorite bright colored vegetables and fruits are out of season and therefore off the table. However, there is plenty of winter specific produce that are exciting and tasty, so you don’t need to suffer through bland, beige meals. Try winter squash, pomegranates, citrus fruits, carrots, and dark leafy greens. All of these fruits and veggies provide much-needed nutrients and add a bit of pizazz to your plate.
7. Check in With Friends and Loved Ones
The winter can be an incredibly depressing and isolating time. Many suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and can feel withdrawn from others. Without the warmth of outside and with the sun setting early, many individuals don’t feel ready to head outside to socialize. However, because of this, it’s all the more important to reach out to and check in with your loved ones frequently. Having intimate dinner parties or escaping to the warmth of a movie theater can be great winter activities.
8. Dress for the Weather
When you do head outside in the low winter temps, make sure you are dressed adequately. Depending on where you live, this could be a simple parka and long pants. In other more snowy or severe areas, you should invest in thick gloves, a warm hat, down coat, and high-quality boots to protect you from the snow.
9. Get a Light Therapy Lamp if Needed
If you struggle with SAD in the dark winter months, consider purchasing a light therapy lamp. A SAD light therapy lamp can offer relief through bright light exposure several times per day. Speak with your doctor if you think you may want to try this way of controlling your seasonal affective disorder. They can likely suggest a lamp and treatment plan that would be right for you.
10. Keep Existing Conditions in Check
Winter can exacerbate existing conditions you may have. Asthma, for instance, can be irritated by breathing the cold, dry air consistently. Or, it may be triggered by cold symptoms. Either way, the conditions you deal with day to day may get a little harder to control. Try to avoid these stressors if you can or see your doctor if you need more interventions to keep everything in check.