WINTER WELLNESS FROM A HOLISTIC NUTRITIONIST & HEALTH COACH
I love living with all the seasons that the Midwest has to offer. Each season is beautiful and unique. It’s especially nice when Mother Nature doesn’t rush through each season, and we actually get to experience the uniqueness of each one. Wintertime; however, is a special time that requires that we pay a little more attention to our health.
It’s not uncommon for many to people get the winter blues, or otherwise know as Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD disease. It’s a colder, darker, time of the year with shorter days. These tips may help you to combat some of those winter blues, and hopefully, even helps you to feel more happy and upbeat!
These are some wintertime habits I use to keep me feeling well and good throughout the year, but especially during the colder months!
ü Sleep More. Who doesn’t like the sound of that? Hibernation is a thing here! When the wintertime sets in, along comes the shorter days. This affects our sleep even more than usual, believe it or not. Aside from good health overall, sleeping more during this season will allow us to be more positive. And having a positive outlook during the winter will stave off any feelings of Seasonal Affective Disorder. If you have trouble with sleeping in general, try adding a magnesium supplement to your daily or nightly routine. This is why I created our HHN Magnesium Oil Spray!
ü Eat nourishing, seasonal meals. Our body loves warm winter meals. These are seasonal meals that are usually more dense in calories, like baked casseroles, soups, and stews. Foods higher in Omega-3 fatty acids help to fight off depression, like salmon or fish, olive or flaxseed oil and grass-fed meats. Vitamin D foods such as eggs, mushrooms, yogurt, or tuna are great to eat. You may also want to take a vitamin D3 supplement. (I take 10,000 IU’s a day. Ask your doctor what he recommends.) You may find yourself craving carbs and sugars. That’s because these foods help to raise serotonin levels and our bodies know what it needs.
ü Get cozy! Oh, sounds lovely, doesn’t it? Cuddling up and getting cozy with all the things that make you feel so comfortable. That’s the wintertime suggestion here. (This includes cuddles with your lover, kids, or pets!) This is a Danish practice called hygge. Hygge is the concept of creating an atmosphere of comfort, coziness, and contentment for your overall well-being. Boy, I just sink into the thought of this beautiful concept! Don’t you? My favorite is cozying up with my husband under plenty of blankets and whispering sweet nothings to each other.
ü Take a warm, winter bath or foot soak. We tend to get more achy during this time of the year for the simple fact we are moving less. Soaking our bodies is a wonderful way to relax, destress, and loosen things up! Not to mention, helps to remove some of those toxins sitting stagnant. I like to do this before getting cozy! You may like our spa-quality HHN bath salts and if you want more reading on the natural therapy of bathing, check out this blog post here!
ü Open a window. Growing up in the Midwest, we have some fairly cold weather during the winter months. Let me tell you, this did not stop my mother from airing out the house! She would bundle up my siblings and me in our snow-suits, full hats, scarves, and mittens. She would throw some blankets over us and let us play on the floor while she opened up every window in the house to clear the air. She said it worked pretty well to release germs and toxins.
ü Are you taking the right supplements? I believe supplements enrich our blood. However, I also believe we don’t really need all the supplements we tend to take. I believe food first, then supplement for any holes or areas that need supplementing. Good ones for this time of year that I lean into are Vitamin D3 because there is less sun, and we need to keep these levels up. (I like to say the sweet spot is between 80 and 100.) Magnesium is another, followed by a quality multivitamin that has good zinc and vitamin b family nutrients. I look for real vitamins, not synthetic. I also make sure my supplements are not filled with extra things like magnesium stearate and so on.
ü Get outside a little. This might sound a little counter product but hear me out. Of course, be safe at all times. Walking on a chilly, winter day builds our immune system quite well. We release those feel-good hormones, we raise our energy naturally, get some much needed fresh air, and we might get a little sunshine to boot! After all, if we don’t challenge our wellness, it doesn’t become strong. It’s the perfect thing to stave off cabin fever.
ü Nourish and protect your skin. We all know how drying the colder months are on our skin. Between the cold temps and wind blowing outside to the heat blasting on the inside, our skin is the first to show the signs, leaving us irritated, red, and painful. I like to really lean into more hydrating oils and creams, like our Honey Hill Naturals line!
Lastly, being one that seems to lean to the side of having these winter blues, I find it more helpful to be proactive in ways to help me out of it. Staying mindful about my health throughout all the seasons is key. I hope you found value in my tips for your winter wellness! Stay safe and healthy!
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