During the winter months, it is fairly usual to feel symptoms such as exhaustion, depression, difficulties focusing, and a disturbance in your normal sleep routine. For some people, this shift in mood is just transient and may be readily handled by making adjustments to their lifestyle. On the other hand, for some people the winter blues may develop into a more serious form of depression known as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD for short. However, you don’t have to let the winter blues get you down; there are things you can do to beat them naturally so let’s have a look.
Take a break from social media
With easy access to the internet, people have started to spend way more time on their smartphones than ever before. Constantly being on social media can overwhelm your brain subconsciously without you realizing it and add to your blues. Uninstall your apps for a while and notice how good you feel.
Have your meals mindfully
We often rush through our meals so as to save a little time and finish the other various tasks that we have. Avoid doing this and eat your lunch or dinner calmly and mindfully. Plan nutritious and healthy meals that have a lot of fiber and protein and are rich in vitamin D. Vitamin D is known to help with feelings of depression and sadness.
Follow a healthy sleep schedule
One of the most important things during winter months is to maintain a healthy sleep cycle without letting the weather get to you. Sleep directly affects mood which is why irregular or inadequate sleep can make you even more sullen and lethargic during the winter. Follow your normal sleep schedule and if you have trouble falling asleep, try aromatherapy with natural essential oils for quick results.
Get some exercise
Winter months make you want to cozy up and stay in your blanket all day long. As tempting as this sounds, if you want to beat the blues, you should try and get some exercise as it instantly releases happy hormones and will make you feel better. It does not have to be a strenuous workout, you can simply go for a stroll in the park but make sure you do move your body everyday.
Change up your space
A good way to beat winter blues is to change up your space a little. With the changing seasons, a change in your room’s scenery will help you reset your mind and make you feel better. You can simply move your furniture around or add something small to your decor or even switch up your lighting. Anything short of structural changes can do the job. You can even change the way your room smells with some mosquito agarbatti incense sticks. While these changes may seem small, they tend to have a huge impact on our mental well being.
Stay in touch with your friends and family
It often happens that when people are affected by winter blues or any other type of change in their mood they instinctively want to isolate themselves in order to feel better. Avoid doing this and always stay in touch with your family and close friends. These are the people who know you best and will be there for you no matter what you are going through. It could be a small text or a call, make sure you talk to them at least once or twice a week.
Get in the sun
One of the best and most effective ways of beating winter blues is getting some sunlight. Sunlight, more specifically Vitamin D, has so many benefits as it helps balance serotonin, increases melatonin production, balances your circadian rhythm and increases vitamin D levels in the body. The symptoms of winter blues or SAD only get worse by not getting enough sunlight. It also feels warm and nice which is a bonus.
Winter blues are a completely normal phenomenon and you should not be alarmed in case you experience this. In case of severe symptoms, seek out medical advice and consider taking medication if these hacks don’t make a difference for you.