5 Ways to Beat Those Cold Season Blues Before They Happen

We’ve all started to feel a little more lethargic and tired when the cold weather creeps in, but for some people the cold season can totally affect your life.

The changing seasons can totally affect your life and changes you from an outgoing, energetic person to someone who just wants to crawl home and curl up under a blanket.

While spending more time indoors and doing less exercise is a fairly natural thing to happen as the days get shorter and temperatures drop, if it is affecting your mood or making you feel anxious, stressed or depressed then it needs to be tackled.

Seasonal Affective Disorder, or the “winter blues”, is a scientifically proven fact. The problem comes as the human body needs daylight to survive and feel healthy. The darker days and fewer hours of sunlight through the winter can really affect your overall mood.

When light enters the body, we stop producing melatonin which is the body’s natural sleep hormone. That’s why we’re programmed to sleep at night. But without sunlight during the day, some people don’t stop producing melatonin leading to the tired and sluggish feeling.

Your brain also produces serotonin which is the mood-regulating chemical. This goes up and down with things like activity or socializing so as you cut down on work outs or seeing friends in the cold season you could be doing more harm and increasing the effects of the winter blues.

READ 5 Ways to Beat Those Cold Season Blues Before They Happen

With SAD, it is more than just feeling a little off –colour. Symptoms can be severe and affect your home and working life. You could find yourself overeating and gaining weight, sleeping too much or have trouble staying awake, losing interest in things you would normally enjoy or even becoming irritable and short tempered. Most people just chop it up to being stuck inside during the colder months, not realizing that it affecting them more than they think.

January and February are typically the most difficult months for sufferers of the cold season blues – particularly as it is a time of tightening budgets after the holidays and also because there’s less sunlight during those months. Vitamin D is a direct source of “happiness” so the lack of it has some side effects.

Even taking a holiday can set you off. If you escape to a tropical beach for two weeks and head home in the middle of winter, you could soon be finding yourself losing all the relaxation and refreshment from your break.

So how can we make sure we are ready to deal with the cold winter blues or even get rid of them before they happen? Read on to hear five great tips for this winter.

So How Do We Beat the Winter Blues?

1.       Get More Sunlight

The main reason people start to feel down and depressed in winter is there is fewer hours of daylight in the day. If you work in an office job, or have a long commute, you could find yourself leaving home in the dark as well as traveling home in it at night. If you’re finding yourself in a bad mood or feeling depressed, then try to spend as much time outdoors as possible. It might be cold but bundle yourself up in a coat and scarf for your lunch break and take a brisk walk. Even 15 minutes of daylight can help break up the pattern and give you enough sunlight to make your body stop producing melatonin and wake you up. The cold air will also kick you back into action!

If you can’t make it out of the office, then ask to sit near a window. Even a small amount of natural light exposure over the course of a day can help to alleviate your mood.

2.       Keep Active

It will be so tempting to pack away your gym kit and trainers for the next six months but keeping active is one of the best things you can do to beat the winter blues. Even if you only manage 30 minutes of exercise once a day it will all help. It doesn’t have to be a marathon around a park though, taking the dog for a long walk or just cycling into work on dry days will help.

You don’t have to go out running every night though, even keeping active socially can help. Studies have shown people that meet up with friends and socialize cope better with the effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder. Make time for your friends and family and it will boost your mood – even if it’s a quick cup of tea once a week.

3.       Eat Well

It can be so tempting to fill up on sugary drinks and snacks in the cold weather – especially when you are feeling tired. But this will only add to the problems and send your body into a rollercoaster of ups and downs which will further exacerbate your symptoms. Try not to pile your plate high with carbs like potato or pasta and go for fresh fruit and vegetables.

Plan ahead and set up a healthy eating regime before the weather turns. Think about making porridge for breakfast and make sure your evening meal is both filling but balanced and healthy.

READ Stop Feeling Depressed: 10 Effective Mood Boosters

4.       Take Up a Hobby

If you’re going to be spending more time indoors then make it productive time. Is there something you’ve always wanted to learn or a craft you just never get around to doing?

Winter is the time and it is proven that knitting, singing or blogging can give you something to look forward to and concentrate on.

5.       Use Light Therapy

Some people find light therapy really beneficial. You can buy a light box to use at home and just have it on for two hours a day while you sit in the same room – reading or watching TV for example. The light box is around 10 times stronger than the light you get from a standard light bulb or office lighting. They are fairly cheap and can really help your body stop the production of melatonin which is the chemical that makes you sleepy.

An alarm clock, which switches on a light to simulate the rising sun, is also really helpful as it tricks the brain into thinking the sun is rising and it is time to get up.