8 Tips for Wellness that You Shouldn’t be doing this Winter
Tips for Wellness in winter, when self-care can be tough.
Many of us want to hibernate away against the cold and dark and we can easily fall into bad habits.
At Soapfullness we care about self-care and we know how easy it can be to form bad habits in the winter.
It can be easy to fall into these habits without actually realising and that is why we have written 8 tips for winter wellness. We hope that it helps 🙂
.1.
Don’t over Indulge in Comfort Foods
Tips for Wellness during Winter
It’s so easy to just to the cupboard and grab a chocolate bar or packet of crisps. It’s cold, it’s wet, it’s dark and we just want to rest after a long day.
Winter is tough in so many ways that its easy to fall into bad habits. Habits which don’t require much effort or thinking. Which is why it has made our tips for wellness list.
We aren’t saying don’t enjoy a chocolate bar or a packet of crisps, but be mindful about the food which you are putting into your body.
Don’t over indulge in foods which provide no real nutritional value. Foods which don’t fill you up. Foods which will help you put extra weight on. Food which doesn’t nourish your body. Foods which can have a detrimental affect upon your mental well-being if you consistently eat them.
One of our tips for Wellness is to research recipes, batch cook and create weekly meal plans. Try and take the pressure off yourself and break any potential bad habits from happening.
One great eating account is The Fitness Chef. His content helps you to find balance when it comes to food and certainly a tip for wellness.
.2.
Not Getting Enough Exercise
Tips for Wellness
After a long cold day, when you get home, you might just want to relax. Winter can have a big affect on pour mental and physical health. The lack of daylight can have a massive impact upon how we feel and our well-being and why it has mad our tips for wellness list.
Getting up in the dark and going home in the dark isn’t the most enjoyable. It can leave you feeling slow and sluggish. Your energy levels can suffer and it can knock you out of sync. You might want to sleep more, have naps, suffer from low mood to name but a few of the effects of winter.
One of the best things that you can do to support your mind and body is to exercise!
The benefits of exercise are enormous, you are likely to experience better sleep, have more energy, improve your mood and mindset, respond to stress much better, alongside supporting your cardiovascular system, boosting your immune system, increasing your blood flow and circulation and help you to manage weight control, to name but a few of the benefits and why it is on our tips for wellness list.
Winter is one of the best times to get exercising and that’s why it has made out tips for winter wellness page.
Exercising in the winter means that you aren’t exercising in the heat. You aren’t hot and sweaty before you already start. You will be in better shape come the summer months if you commit to exercise in the winter months. That summer body is fully achievable!
Getting started with exercise in winter doesn’t have to be costly or that you have to travel miles to the nearest gym.
Explore YouTube, explore exercise subscriptions; there is so much content out there which means that you don’t have to leave the comfort of your own home if you don’t have too!
Content that we love:
At Soapfullness we are big fans of exercising at home and it is a big part of our self-care strategies. We want to help you create a lovely environment in which you enjoy working out in.
Candles or wax melts are perfect to uplift and refresh the aroma of any room. Ensure that they are placed in a safe place where nothing will catch fire and where they won’t get knocked over.
Smell can have a big impact upon how we feel. It can impact our mood and motivation. If you are working out in a gym which smells a bit yuck, its likely that you wouldn’t want to spend your time there.
The same for at home. So why not make your exercise space smell amazing if use in a correct and safe way?
Free Fitness Content that we love:
At Soapfullness we are big fans of exercising at home and it is a big part of our self-care strategies. We want to help you create a lovely environment in which you enjoy working out in.
Self-Care Candles or wax melts are perfect to uplift and refresh the aroma of any room. Ensure that they are placed in a safe place where nothing will catch fire and where they won’t get knocked over.
Smell can have a big impact upon how we feel. It can impact our mood and motivation. If you are working out in a gym which smells a bit yuck, its likely that you wouldn’t want to spend your time there.
The same for at home. So why not make your exercise space smell amazing if use in a correct and safe way.
It’s important to enjoy the space in which you are working out in and that’s why it’s a tip for wellness from us.
.3.
Sleeping For Too Long
Tips for Wellness during Winter
The long nights and dark morning can play havoc with our circadian rhythm. Its normal for our sleep habits and activity cycle to change with the seasons; however, your actual biological need for sleep does not increase.
Winter can be tough on our circadian rhythm and sleep patterns and it’s why its a top tip for wellness from us. Experts believe there is a link between our internal body clock that drives our sleep-wake cycle and the amount of light that we receive.
In winter we receive a lot less light. This increases the hormone Melatonin which is produced when it is dark and we are asleep. The lack of light in winter contributes towards the increased production of Melatonin which makes us feel more sleepy in the winter months.
Winter sleeping and energy levels can certainly feel like we are out of sync as we take a slower pace of life.
Tip for wellness:
There are things that you can do to help improve your sleep-in winter:
- Go for a walk
- SAD lamp
- Cold shower/ cold therapy
- Resit the urge to nap or stay in bed longer
- Don’t skip out on exercise
- Don’t overeat
- Don’t overheat your house
- Watch or reduce the caffeine intake
.4.
Avoid Taking Hot Showers
Tips for Wellness during Winter
Our fourth tip for wellness in winter is to avoid taking hot showers. We know, who doesn’t love a hot shower? Especially when your cold and wet outside. Unfortunately the hot showers don’t make our tips for wellness (sadness we know!).
Hot showers can dry our skin out and damage the surface of our skin. Hot showers can strip your skin of essential moisture and deplete the natural protective barrier of your skin, which is why it isn’t a wellness tip.
Hot shows in winter can cause skin inflammation and irritation and you may experience redness, scaling of the skin and itchiness. Something which isn’t pleasant to experience.
After you get out of a shower in winter always put some moisturiser on to lock in the moisture into your skin. It will be absorbed quickly and leave your skin feeling amazing (top tip for wellness!).
Turn the temperature down (so it isn’t boiling), reduce the length of your shower and help take care of your skin this winter.
Winter skin care is a vital component of our tips for winter wellness and whilst embracing a nice hot long shower is therapeutic, think about the impact it will have on your skin and take good care of it.
.5.
Stop Drinking Less Water!
Tips for Wellness during Winter
Drinking less in winter can easily become a bad habit. Just because you are less thirsty or you aren’t losing bodily fluids as fast as in the summer does not mean that you should drink any less.
Hydration is one of the most important and beneficial tips for wellness in winter. Staying hydrated can:
Improve Your Skin
There is nothing more uncomfortable than chapped, itchy, peeling skin. Water is a vital component at keeping your skin cells full and hydrated which in turn will help reduce the risk of chapping and peeling.
Water is vital at removing the impurities in tour body and if you are not well hydrated can come through via your pores, causing blemishes.
Dull skin is another winter problem with the combination of dry air and a lack of hydration. Keep your skin glowing by drinking water at regular intervals, despite the fact you may not feel thirsty.
Increase Your Energy
A major cause of fatigue is being dehydrated. In winter it is easy to grab an extra cup of coffee or two. You become more dependent upon the caffeine boost which isn’t healthy or sustainable and usually mean that you will experience an energy crash once the caffeine has worn off.
Set a water goal each hour and aim to drink that amount of water. Once you start forming this habit it will get easier and easier.
A great tip for wellness is to grab a water bottle and aim to refill it every hour. At Soapfullness we are big fans of the Klean Kanteen 20 oz water bottles.
Protect Your Immune System
Dehydration can weaken the immune system. The lack of water in your body can dry the mucous membranes in your skin and sinus passages which can reduce your resistance to inflections.
Keeping hydrated in the winter months ensures that the barriers which are used to protect your body from the flu and colds are functional and intact.
So, keep drinking water to help support your body in fighting viruses.
Staying hydrated is a top wellness tip for winter.
.6.
You will likely spend too much time indoors
Tips for Wellness what not to do during Winter
One vital tip for wellness in winter is to get outside!
It is natural to want to hunker down over the winter months. Everything can feel like a battle against the light and elements. Going outside when its wet, cold and windy isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. We get that.
However, during the winter months, we are much more likely to move less, to get less vitamin D, to experience less energy, to get less light, to eat comfort foods, the list goes on. This can mean that it can have a negative impact upon both you mental and physical health.
Whilst it is lovely to go into hibernation mode, it is also very important that you look after yourself too which is why it is a vital tip for wellness this winter.
Nature is beautiful and wild in the winter.
Listening to the sound of the wind howling whilst you go for a walk, experience the rain on your skin, watching the sea waves crashing against the shore as you get a taste of salty air is simply breathtaking.
Obviously, we recommend wrapping up where possible and being safe, but there is nothing more magical than getting out in nature and experiencing its elements.
Winter can be tough and getting outdoors is one of the best things that you can do to support your mind and body.
Being outdoors can help to improve your immune system, lift your mood, support your circadian rhythm, improve sleep quality, allow you to be mindful, it can help you focus and become more creative and create some beautiful memories.
Essentially don’t stay indoors during the winter months as it will be detrimental to your health. Whilst it’s lovely to embrace the indoor, being outdoors is a vital tip for wellness this winter.
.7.
Stop Drinking Too Much Caffeine in Winter
Tips for Wellness during Winter
Isn’t it easy to just go and make another cup of coffee? It’s cold, you are tired, its dark outside and you just need one more cup to keep you going. We totally get you.
It’s incredibly easy to fall into the caffeine cycle. Just one more cup to keep you going. The benefits of reducing your caffeine intake or switching to decaf is huge. Caffeine produces false energy.
Caffeine blocks the adenosine in your brain, which is what is produced when you are tired. Just because you are drinking coffee doesn’t mean that your brain stops producing adenosine.
Caffeine looks like adenosine and binds to the nerve cell blocking the adenosine from attaching to it. When the caffeine wears off, adenosine floods the brains receptors which can make you feel tired and experience the caffeine crash.
When you experience a caffeine crash it can be a combination of symptoms such as headaches, excessive tiredness, inability to concentrate, and irritability. Something which really isn’t pleasant at all.
Reducing your caffeine or replacing your caffeine drinks in winter can help you feel more alert, focused, less tired to name but a few of the benefits. It will also prevent having that caffeine crash which let’s face it, is exhausting.
This is why reducing caffeine in is a top tip for wellness.
.8.
Neglecting your Skin
Tips for Wellness during Winter
Whilst we think of taking care and moisturising our skin form the elements, one over seen factor is SPF. Just because it is winter does not mean that your skin does not need protecting from the UV rays, which is why it is a tip for wellness.
In winter the UVA rays are still present and can penetrate through the clouds, glass and your skin. UVA rays are responsible for damaging the deeper layers of your skin which can cause premature aging and increased risk of cancer.
One of the best ways to help take care and protect your skin is by applying SPF to your skin care routine in winter. As a general rule of thumb SPF should be applied at the end of your skin care routine, usually after moisturiser.
A great article to read for tips for wellness, skincare in winter is here. As recommend SPF 30 or above provides a good level of defense which blocks out approx 97% of UV.
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