In winter, it can be difficult to force yourself to do something and leave the house once again. A bad mood this season visits a little more often. To maintain your health, it is important to pay attention to good habits. In this material, we have collected those that are especially useful in winter.
1. Cook new dishes
In winter, people spend more time at home. And this is a good reason to get a new pleasant and useful habit.
Once or several times a week, prepare a completely new dish for yourself. According to American nutritionist Lisa Bruno, this will help to cope with boredom and bad mood, which often appears on gray days. Also, cooking new dishes makes you think outside the box and develop creative skills.
And this activity is useful in order to maintain health. If the diet is monotonous, he quickly gets bored. And at this moment, you begin to want junk food – a lot of sweet, fast food or salty snacks. But when you cook according to a new recipe at least once a week, you get acquainted with tastes and dishes previously unknown to you, which helps you not to overeat and eat right.
2. Go for a walk during the day
When it’s cold outside, it’s hard to force yourself to go outside again. But it is worth turning on the willpower and going for a walk in the daytime. For example, for this you can allocate part of the lunch break.
This is necessary in order to prevent the lack of vitamin D that most people experience during the winter. And, according to a study in Norway in 2000, being out in the cold air helps you clear your mind, focus better, and engage in activities that require you to multitask.
In addition, a short walk in the fresh frosty air helps to effectively cope with depression, anxiety and anxiety. This conclusion was reached by scientists from the American Institute of Stress in 2020. This is because cold air is more oxygenated than warm air. This improves blood flow, which can increase the production of serotonin and endorphins, which are needed for good mood and resistance to stress.
3. Use the five minute rule
In winter, many people note that they are often sad. And some struggle with seasonal affective disorder, which we have already talked about in detail.
To cope with a bad mood, you should use the five-minute rule more often. Its advantage is that it does not take much time and allows you to throw out emotions in order to feel better.
When you are in a bad mood, try to find an opportunity to be alone with yourself. And then set a timer on your phone for five minutes. As soon as the countdown has begun, allow yourself to speak out loud your feelings: sadness, dissatisfaction, sadness. Feel free to discuss anything, from bad weather to things your friends did that might offend you.
But as soon as the timer is up, move on to the second part of this practice. Say to yourself: “It’s pointless to dwell on this.” If necessary, say it several times at different intervals after the exercise. Be sure to find something to do after that, which will additionally help you get distracted. It should be enjoyable.
The more often you use this exercise to relieve negative emotions, the easier it will be for you to endure bad weather and cloudy days.
4. Improve your sleep quality
According to a 2015 American study, people who slept six hours or less each night for one week were about four times more likely to catch a cold when exposed to the virus, compared to those who slept more than seven hours. This is because lack of sleep weakens the body’s immune system.
In order to get sick less often in winter, it is important to improve the quality of sleep. Namely, accustom yourself to go to bed at the same time, not excluding weekends, and sleep from seven to nine hours. And also pay attention to products that can help improve sleep – we talked about them here.
5. Take a bath more often
A hot bath in winter is not only a way to keep warm, but also to maintain your health. Therefore, it is worth taking it once or twice a week.
It is best to do this before bed. This procedure will help you relax and fall asleep faster. To make your bath more beneficial, add essential oils or bombs that contain them, as well as sea salt, to the water.
6. Make shopping lists
If you usually go shopping without a list, you should start making one in winter. Dullness and cold outside the window make people actively look for distractions from a bad mood and reasons for joy. And shopping is one of them.
But, unfortunately, impulsive purchases, although they can improve mood for a short time, are very harmful to finances. Especially if you use them frequently. And a list written before going to the store will help you not to miss anything important, but also not to take too much.
Read related:6 Scientific Reasons Why Women Feel Cold More Than Men
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