Winter Self Care Tips

Winter is in full swing and I’m sure with the current temperatures I wouldn’t be surprised if this blog reaches you with a cup of warm tea in your hand and woolly socks on your feet. Now that the days are shorter and colder, our motivation to stay active can dwindle. So, I thought I would include a several tips and tricks to stay active and take care of your happy hormones during the shorter days.

Get some sunlight first thing when you wake up in the morning
It doesn’t matter what time you get up, as long as you get out in the sunlight and have it on your face, preferably without glasses (just be sure to close your eyes). Just a minute or two of direct sunlight will kick your serotonin levels up (serotonin is associated with boosting mood and helping a person feel calm and focused), which in turn with elevate your melatonin levels at night (melatonin is a hormone that helps you fall asleep and stay asleep).

Don’t expose yourself to blue light at least one hour before bed
Blue light is the part of light spectrum that stimulates our body to stay awake, it does so mainly by stimulating serotonin and inhibiting melatonin. Sources of blue light include but are not limited to computers, tablets, smartphones, televisions. The negative effects of blue light exposure at night include disruption of circadian rhythm, increased risk of cancer, diabetes, depression.

Avoid eating at least 3 hours before bed
Food as we all know can cause some discomfort and possibly some gas after we eat. When we are active our bodies use up some of the glucose we take in with food, thus we don’t store as much in the form of fat.

Avoid stimulating activities an hour before bed
The mindset we want to establish before bed is calm and relaxed. Reading is an excellent way to achieve this, just be sure to ditch the digital and go old school with a paperback book or magazine. However, we don’t want to be reading things that get us riled up. Calming the nervous system is the goal here.

Meditation and Breathwork
This is probably the most profound step of a nightly routine. Even if I fail to tick any of the other boxes on this list, if I manage to get a 10–15-minute meditation session in before bed I always feel better and calmer. It doesn’t matter too much what form of meditation you do, whatever works for you will do the trick. There are tons of free meditation apps available these days.

Write down your to-do list for the next day
If you have difficulty settling down because you have a lot on your mind, then have a pen and notepad next do your bed where you can jot down your to-do list for the next day. This can help appease your anxieties about your next day priorities and obligations.