How do you cope with stress in the winter?
For some, stress can become even more pronounced during winter. However, taking more care over your diet, still making the effort to move (especially outside), ensuring you are sleeping enough, plus, removing negative influences such as your exposure to media or other challenges that may crop up more in winter, could also prove helpful.
6 tips for helping to manage winter stress
The colder, darker and shorter days that come with winter can often take its toll on the symptoms of stress, anxiety or low mood. Tactics to help manage your mental health including symptoms of stress, are as follows:
1. Eat well
A number of nutrients can help to see your mental health through the winter. Firstly, we have vitamin D. Vitamin D is so important for maintaining out mental health, so much so, we often see many additional mental health challenges crops us, such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), as the sunshine disappears and the longer, darker days become more apparent. We rely heavily on sunshine to get our vitamin D fix, so it's not surprising it can take a bit of a hit.
However, some other nutritional challenges can often creep in as winter ensues too. As the colder weather takes hold, it's quite common to slow the pace slightly and wrap up warm, however, we may also be tempted to reach for the comfort foods. Now, whilst this is fine, you just need to ensure those comfort foods are still centered around fresh foods. If you become tempted to reach for more refined options, you could be missing out on some key nutrients such as magnesium or B vitamins, which are crucial for helping to keep us relaxed, improve our resilience to stress, whilst also maintaining our spirits.
What can be done to help?
Prioritise cooking from fresh when it comes to the winter warmers – I find it's the perfect time of year to make the most of batch cooking and stock up on your favourite healthy homemade options. Then, whilst obtaining nutrients from your food is priority, vitamin D is an exception, as we simply just can't get enough during this time, when the sun has all but disappeared. So, don't be afraid to sensibly stock up on a vitamin D-containing supplement such as our Balance Mineral Drink.
2. Sleep better
One advantage of winter is the darker nights and mornings can make for better sleeping conditions. This is important as proper sleep is so important for helping to maintain our mood and minimise the impact of stress.
See, sleep deprivation can easily make us feel less capable of managing stress and quite sneakily, can even affect our appetite and contribute to cravings, which indirectly means it can also impact your mood and nervousness too.
What can be done to help?
Ever the optimist, my advice is to take advantage of winter and strive to get in better sleep routines before the lighter nights arrive again. As the light disappears, get in the habit of winding down – get yourself involved in some calming activities from stretching, baths, reading, to your go-to music, and then head to bed long before you feel can't keep your eyes open. Your mood, and many other areas too, will thank you for it the next day.
3. Prioritise light exposure, preferably outside
We can be tempted to lay off the fitness regime if we're decidedly snug and wearing more layers, but actually, moving regularly (don't worry, extremes aren't expected), but especially making the effort to be outside, could help to improve your mood.
Being at one with nature has been shown to reduce physiological stress (1), but actually, daylight exposure, even in winter, and particularly in the first half of the day, helps to positively influence your sleep/wake hormones and is also very much connected to your mood and stress response.
What can be done to help?
As little as a 10-minute walk in the morning is all that's needed. Up to 20 minutes daily, even better, but set the bar low and be surprised at the positive difference this could have. So, get out with the dog, walk to the end of your road and back, or potter around your garden and take some lovely deep breaths whilst you're at it, it could be this easy.
4. Switch off the news
Research suggests we could be in a much better place mentally, by tuning in less to social media and outlets for news. (2) Especially after the year we've had, this is more pertinent than ever, but actually, the winter can be a challenging time too for some negative or worry-provoking themes to creep in.
Think the pressure of the festive period, Black Friday, the threat of ever-rising winter bills, the potentiality of newfound winter restrictions or other uncertainties we could be facing during this time; and surprise, surprise, the media are the first to jump on these themes and dramatise them to the hills. In reality, if we avoid much of the scaremongering, we'll usually be much better off than we might think.
What can be done to help?
Arguably the news doesn't inform us of much, it mainly just dramatizes what we already know. If you need to check in with the world, do it earlier in the day and enjoy a relaxing couple of hours afterwards. Certainly, don't be tempted to watch the late-night news, or have a before-bed-scroll, before then expecting to be perfectly relaxed in your bed 10 minutes later. Try skipping it altogether and head to bed that little bit earlier and feel the difference.
5. Stay true to yourself
This is another focus on the impact negativity can have on us, but arguably, even more so in the winter when we may just be a little more vulnerable to it. I'm getting a little deep here, but the reality is the new age of social media can put a lot of pressure on people, so if you're spending more time indoors of an evening, it could soon take its toll.
Too many comparisons can be made, or the fear of missing out can be pretty damaging too. Trying to focus on more real-life and positive influences instead, can be much more rewarding.
What can be done to help?
Make a list of your core values, and what makes you feel better and always go back to this. Do more of what you enjoy, make sufficient breaks and take time for yourself, and don't let winter get in the way. Read from books rather than screens, and aim to surround yourself with positive vibes, people that make you happy and who provide a two-way relationship, and make the effort to keep up some socialising despite the winter.
6. Accept a helping hand from herbs
It's well accepted that our mental health and resilience to stress can take a little bit of a dip during winter, so, don't be afraid to accept a little helping hand in the form of a herbal remedy in order to remain feeling at your best.
What can be done to help?
Stress Relief Daytime can be used to help take the edge off of symptoms of mild stress and anxiety, helping to ensure they don't develop into anything more. If you're struggling to get your symptoms under control, it's always worth chatting to your doctor.
Stress Relief Daytime – for stress and mild anxiety
- Herbal remedy for mild anxiety
- Herbal stress relief
- Made from natural herbs
- Contains extracts (tinctures) of fresh valerian root and hops
"This product really has helped to take the edge off my stress enabling me to cope"
