How to beat the winter blues

When it’s cold, grey and wet for days or weeks on end and the daylight hours are short, it can be hard to feel positive. Even the sunniest personalities can struggle to love life during the winter months.

As part of our winter wellbeing series, we have a few tips on how you can beat the winter blues and actually thrive until those first shoots of spring.

Let the light in
Your body expects bright light first thing in the morning. Your eyes contain specialised cells that aren't used for vision; they're used to tell your brain how much daylight is available.

When those cells detect bright light, they signal the brain's "master clock" (the suprachiasmatic nucleus), which helps regulate sleep and wakefulness, energy, mood, hormone production and even body temperature.

In winter, particularly if you're indoors a lot, your brain may not get a strong enough signal that it's daytime, which can leave you feeling tired, sluggish and unmotivated.

Exposure to bright light, on the other hand, increases serotonin activity, which elevates your mood, motivation and appetite.

Even on a cloudy winter day outside, light levels are often 10–100 times brighter than typical indoor lighting so if possible, get outside within two hours of waking. If that’s not possible, think about investing in a therapeutic light box. These typically produce around 10,000 lux of light. That's much brighter than normal indoor lighting and is designed to mimic the effect of being outdoors. They are particularly effective for people with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), but even people without SAD often notice benefits during winter.

Stay active
While it’s tempting to hibernate on the couch and watch TV in winter, moving your body gives you endorphins that will naturally boost your mood. A recent study in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports reported that a 30-minute lunchtime walk three times a week boosts mood while increasing alertness and enthusiasm at work. Outside is best. If that’s not possible, exercise under bright lights.

Indulge in healthy comfort food
There are loads of warming, winter foods that are good for us. Think about roasting a big batch of winter vegetables such as kūmara, pumpkin, parsnips, carrots, red onion or beetroot. Even cauliflower and broccoli can be roasted as part of a yummy winter salad. Or cook up a big pot of homemade soup, stew fruit to eat with your Te Atatu Toasted muesli and get out the slow cooker to make delicious dishes with those cheap cuts of meat that are beautiful when braised, make one of our warming crumbles. 

Stay hydrated
It’s easier to keep drinking when the weather is hot, but when it’s cooler, we may be less inclined to give our body the fluids it needs. Cold weather actually suppresses the thirst response. But being dehydrated can affect your mood, concentration and alertness and increase feelings of fatigue. If you find it hard to drink cold water, try a cup of warm water with a slice of lemon. Herbal teas are another great winter alternative. Coffee and tea also count towards your daily fluid intake but be careful of consuming too much caffeine as it can have a diuretic effect (making you urinate more), contributing to dehydration.

Make plans you can look forward to
If the days and weeks feel long and dreary, start putting things in your diary that you can anticipate with joy and excitement. It could be a holiday in a warmer climate, but there are lots of things you can do that don’t require an overseas trip. A weekend getaway, a movie date to see a film you have been looking forward to, a massage or a catch up with friends over a glass of wine around the fireplace will also lift your spirits.

Be scents-able
People have been using scents to influence mood and wellbeing for thousands of years. Long before modern aromatherapy became mainstream, the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians used fragrance as a fix for a myriad of health issues. Aromatic plants are also part of Ayurvedic traditions and Chinese medicine has long incorporated herbs and incense. Here are some great winter blends you can add to an oil burner, a bath or even a tissue on your desk at work.

• Orange + cinnamon = warm and cheerful.
• Orange + bergamot = bright and uplifting.
• Lavender + sweet orange = relaxed but not sleepy.
• Rosemary + lemon = fresh and invigorating.

Seek professional help if you need it.
If your "winter blues" are more than just feeling a bit flat—such as persistent low mood, loss of interest, oversleeping, or major changes in appetite—then it may be worth discussing with your GP, as those can be signs of seasonal depression rather than normal winter sluggishness.