As fall slowly disappears and winter fast approaches, the days become shorter and I often find my happiness dwindling. It seems that it is always dark out, and the motivation to succeed and get up and out is lacking. Waking up to dim and dark mornings makes me want to turn over and go back to dreaming, and the frigid weather influences me to turn on Netflix and ignore all of my responsibilities.
Around 1.6 billion people worldwide are affected by this weather change, and 5% of Americans experience seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Though it becomes harder and harder to get out of bed and be productive, these are some options you can utilize to snap yourself out of this slump.
1) Bring Light Back Into Your Life
It has been scientifically proven that using sun lights—or exposing yourself to artificial lights—helps make up for all brightness that you are missing. By utilizing a light box for thirty minutes a day, your body is able to soak up all the light that it would otherwise have to make up for by over-producing melatonin, which causes fatigue. Even simply sitting next to windows or lighting candles or surrounding yourself with Christmas lights and lanterns can help brighten your mood (pun intended). Check out this article to see how a light box helped this woman.
2) Incorporate More Vitamin and Nutrient-Packed Food Into Your Diet
I often find myself drawn towards snacking on junk food and resorting to comfort foods to perk myself up. However, indulging too much in these unhealthy items can heavily impact your energy by making you feel even more tired. Make sure you stick to eating protein-packed options, as well as fiber and fresh fruits/veggies. Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t eat some mac and cheese or chocolate every once in a while, but pushing yourself to pick up some nutritious meals will benefit you in the long run. Some of my favorite wholesome and delicious meals are peanut butter oatmeal, Southwest salad, fruit smoothies, and hearty chili.
3) Meditation
Though it sounds cliché and hippie-inspired, meditation really does help bring you back to the right state of mind. Often times, when you’re feeling blue and don’t know where to look for inspiration, taking 10 minutes out of your day to reflect on what you’re thankful for can put things into perspective and help bring you back down to earth. I never thought that meditation would be something that I’d utilize so often. However, sitting down and reminding yourself “you are ok,” or, “you can do this,” is really influential. Even reading some motivational quotes on Pinterest is a little thing I like to do to remind myself of all that matters and that I am not alone.
4) Get Outside and Try Some Winter Activities
By embracing winter instead of turning away from the cold, you may find a winter activity you enjoy. Make sure you are bundled up in thick, winter clothing (making it bright colors is fun and a mood-booster as well) and try out something like sledding, skiing, making a snowman, ice skating, or even just taking a walk. Some of my favorite memories as a child were sledding down my neighbor’s hill or making snow angels with my siblings. Why not throw it back to when we were kids and try those activities out again? Exercising is proven to boost moods, so even stepping outside and observing the scenery can help your focus and reduce stress.
5) It’s All About Mindset
When winter rolls around, I find myself dreading the long season and wishing fall could last forever or that I could fast-forward to spring. However, instead of looking at the season as a negative thing, try finding positives aspects in order to help your mental health. Instead of staying in bed all day, why not splurge and treat yourself to some cheap fuzzy socks or some winter-inspired candles? Whipping out your favorite movie (holiday-inspired or not) can boost your mood too, especially with a cup of steaming hot chocolate to sip on while watching. Excitement for the holidays can give you something to look forward to, and finding things you can do despite the cold and dark can put you on the right track to a good mindset again.
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