How to beat winter lethargy

Posted by kathryn in Seasonal Health

One of the questions I answered yesterday was about eating heavier, more starchy foods during winter. This is a common trend and it’s one of the reasons many people gain a few kilos over the winter months. While I talked about the food side, I didn’t say anything about other aspects of health.

The things we do differently in winter

If you compare your lifestyle at the moment, to what it’s like in summer, I think you’ll find there is a big contrast.

In summer most people are more active. You live more of your life outside, it’s easy to go for a walk or a swim. Plus in summer most people drink more water and eat lighter foods.

Over the past couple of weeks here in Sydney, as well as the rain, it’s been getting colder and colder. It’s dark in the mornings and the days are shorter. It’s hard to get motivated to go for your normal walk and it’s much easier to spend the evening huddled on the couch, in front of the TV with the heater on.

This is also the time of year when people start coming down with winter colds. Everyone is coughing and sneezing on the bus in the morning and work colleagues are either off sick or “soldiering on”, dreaming of a month in the West Indies.

It’s little wonder so many people spend the winter feeling tired, lethargic and constantly sick.

If this is you, then a few small changes to your normal winter routines can make a huge difference and keep you well over winter.

Be active

Rather than staying inside and dropping all exercise, it’s better to at least maintain some level of activity :

• If it’s too cold and dark to do your morning walk, then get out during your lunch-time and stretch your legs for 20 minutes.
• Get off the bus a stop earlier and walk that last 10 minute stretch to work.
• On the weekends meet up with a friend and rather than huddling in a cafe, keep yourself warm by doing a 30 minute walk together. Then you can have the coffee afterwards.

Drink

Plain water doesn’t seem as attractive in winter, but rather than dropping your liquid intake entirely, why not opt for tea, or keep those colds and flus at bay with a big pot of fresh ginger tea.

Nurture your health

It’s not a foregone conclusion that you’ll catch every single cold and virus that goes round. Instead, being well over winter is possible, but it involves looking after yourself. For some tips, see my top 5 ways to keep a cold at bay.

29 June, 2007