3 Things To Do This Week To Blast The Winter Blues

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The holiday gifts have been opened. The lights have dimmed. Family members have gone home, sometimes to faraway places. You’ve watched the New Year’s Eve shows, cheering as the ball dropped in Times Square at midnight. You wake up — and it’s January. The sun sets way too early. The sky is steel gray. It’s frostbite weather.

Winter can be a cozy time: evenings spent huddled under a blanket, reading a long novel and getting toasty by a fireplace. Bears hibernate in winter, and often, we feel like doing the same. Staying home might feel easier than donning a ski jacket, scarf, gloves and a hat.

It’s too much effort — and shivering — to get to the gym. Summer picnics and barbecues have been replaced by TV binge-watching. It’s the season of the winter blues.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

SAD (seasonal affective disorder) is a serious condition, a type of depression from autumn until spring that occurs in 5 percent of Americans. According to The American Psychiatric Association, warning signs include loss of interest or pleasure in activities you usually enjoy, intense craving for sweets and carbohydrates, too much sleep yet still feeling tired, difficulty concentrating and feeling hopeless. If these symptoms occur, speak to a healthcare provider.

The rest of us experience the milder “winter blues,” especially if we live in northern climates. It’s the result of fewer daylight hours and frigid temperatures.

According to The Ohio State University Extension, when our brains receive less light, our bodies produce more melatonin, a chemical that makes us sleepy. Levels of serotonin, our brain’s feel-good chemical, decrease. But you can beat the winter blues. Here are three things you can do this week:

Move Your Body: Outdoors and In

Winter doesn’t mean staying inside. Take a walk when the winter sun is strongest and most direct. Running and cycling can still be done in winter with the right clothing and gear. The Cleveland Clinic recommends extra muscle stretching before and after workouts in the cold.

Go cross-country skiing, sledding like a kid (or with a kid!), hiking, ice-skating or take your dog on extra walks. Dress appropriately and bring along a warm drink in an insulated bottle.

Any exercise is mood-boosting. Even if the gym seems like too much effort, there are plenty of online yoga, aerobics and strength training classes. Schedule with instructors ahead of time to maintain a consistent routine. Interacting with others, even digitally, prevents us from feeling isolated.

Nourish the Winter Blues

Carbs, cookies and crunchy processed foods might provide a false, temporary satisfaction. But good-for-you foods are natural mood boosters, according to The Cleveland Clinic. Experts suggest oatmeal with sliced bananas, an apple with nut butter and heartwarming chicken vegetable soup. Making chicken soup from scratch is an ideal activity when your windows are frosted; delicious aromas filling a house all afternoon are sure to lift your mood.

In the summer, my dinners are often salads. In winter, my recipes change to heartier meals, like a meatball tagine with exotic spices, white bean soup with lots of leafy greens and root vegetables roasting in an oven that warms the kitchen and my stomach. I put on some bouncy music and sway to the beat while I’m cooking. Afterward, I move into my living room and dance like nobody’s watching.

Laugh and Socialize

Combining family and friends with laughing is the antidote to winter loneliness and isolation. According to 19th-century novelist Victor Hugo, “Laughter is the sun that drives winter away from the human face.” Invite friends over and play a party game designed to induce giggles, like Charades or Pictionary. Fishbowl is my favorite because it’s a riot with multi-generational participants. Watch a stand-up comedian on any number of streaming channels. Jim Gaffigan is my pick for “clean” fun. There’s even something called Laughter Yoga.

It’s tempting to spend extra time scrolling social media on the shortest days of the year, yet this can sometimes have deleterious effects. Who wants to look at photos of people swimming in the Caribbean when you’re stoking a fireplace for warmth?

It’s better to limit social media and be with nearby friends instead. Winter blues can sink after the sun sets, according to The New York Times.

Bedtime can be challenging, and research suggests that a good night’s sleep is beneficial. During long winter evenings, start a gratitude journal. Studies have shown that expressing gratitude can improve mood and immunity. Write down three things you are grateful for every day or call a friend and tell them why they’re important to you.

This seemingly small gesture is one of the easiest ways to beat the winter blues — a mood booster for both of you.

 
Do any of you suffer from the winter blues? How do you get through it? Let us know in the comments below.