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Setting Up a Wholesome Winter Lifestyle
With winter around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about the type of lifestyle you want to have for the next six months. Don’t worry if your year hasn’t gone to plan so far; simply start again with a beginner’s mind and look at some of the ways to make your time wholesome.
Sleep Patterns
Sleep patterns can be disturbed during the winter months because of changes to the release of melatonin and the disruption of the natural circadian rhythms; this means you might feel tired earlier and want to sleep more. But that’s not a bad thing because sleep supports your health.
When you’re asleep, your body has the chance to fight infection and repair damaged cells, helping you to maintain better health throughout the colder months. Not only that, you will find you have more energy and attention when you sleep; read more about sleep and healthy living.
New Interests
One of the big challenges to health in winter is maintaining mental wellbeing. With the cold dark nights coming in, it can be hard to motivate ourselves to leave the house and take up a hobby or interest that is easy to do when the sun is out. But it’s always important to maintain an interest.
Interests help us to stay mentally alert and active; they also help us to connect with other people, which further supports mental wellbeing. Options are more limited in the winter, but you can still enjoy puzzles, games, and reading at home instead of going to the local gym or track.
Home Cooking
The winter has arrived, and it’s time to call the local takeaways for your favorite meals, they are convenient and tasty, but there are plenty of downsides. Firstly. Takeaways are expensive, and in the current financial climate, they make little sense. Secondly, takeouts are calorie heavy.
The good news is there is an easy alternative, home cooking. Some of the most delicious vegetables are in season during the winter months, such as sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, pumpkins, and turnips. These make tasty meals when roasted or tuned into flavorsome soups.
Home Workouts
Studies show that people tend to gain more weight in winter; while this is mostly down to eating habits over the festive season, there is a biological reason as well. With less natural sunlight around, the body has to store more fat to use as energy, so we can expect to gain some weight.
If you can’t get to the gym over winter, don’t worry, there are plenty of ways you can keep fit at home for free. One of the most effective home routines is using an app, such as the Nike fitness App or the Home workout App. In fifteen minutes, you can improve your health significantly.
Mindfulness Practice
One of the key challenges during the winter months is maintaining our mental health and wellbeing; that’s because the body produces less of a sleep hormone called melatonin which can lead to depression as well as seasonal affective disorder (SAD). But mindfulness can help.
Mindfulness is a form of awareness that helps us manage our thoughts, emotions, and sensations in the body. Mindfulness is very easy to learn and practice, but it takes years to master, and no one is an expert. Learning mindfulness is a sensible thing to do in the winter.
Home Space
It can be frustrating in the winter when you can’t make it to your favorite clubs and events because of the weather or other commitments. Instead of feeling frustrated and stressed because of this, it can be better to accept th situation and set up your requirements at home.
Create space in your home for working out and continuing with the hobbies and interests you enjoy at other times of the year. Making a decision to stay home can be beneficial because it takes away the stresses and provides a safe and warm place for you to continue activities.
Drink Water
People know to drink more water in the summer months due to sweat loss and hydration requirements, but it’s just as important to stay hydrated in winter too. In the winter, we encounter dry air from heaters and HVAC, which can be damaging to your skin and cause weight gain.
The best advice is to find a hydration habit that suits you and maintain it throughout the year. The body requires water top-ups regularly to produce blood and other fluids, but staying hydrated also keeps your skin healthy and helps you to avoid overeating in your daily life.
Drink Tea
If fresh water is a little boring for you, why not try some tea instead? Like water, tea is almost completely free from calories, but it benefits from some additional flavor as well. In the winter, tea is warming and flavorsome; it also helps you to reduce your weight, especially when you drink it shortly before a meal. Make your winter more lively with a variety of flavorsome teas.
Wholesome Foods
Winter is the perfect time to start a diet full of wholesome foods. In the winter, the vegetables that are in season include lots of root vegetables that are perfect for creating soups, stews, and for roasting. If you choose a wholesome food diet over the winter, you will benefit from better health and less weight gain when the spring arrives. Wholesome foods are also inexpensive.
Journaling
In winter, people can be subject to mental health challenges; the dark nights and lack of activities can lead to negative thinking patterns and depression. An excellent way to remedy these patterns is to use a journal. Gratitude journaling is an excellent example. Use prompts to write about the things that made you happy this year and the thing you appreciate about life.
Final Thoughts
Winter doesn’t have to be cold and downbeat; on the contrary, you can use the next six months to improve your mental and physical health or to learn something new to benefit yourself and the people around you. Use some of the ideas in this post to jump-start your winter wellness.
