Fall and Winter Activities for Mental Health
Introduction
For many, fall and winter simply represents a shift in seasons, a colder climate, and maybe even enjoying a bit of hot chocolate. For others, it might mean you feel a bit sadder, more stressed, or you simply don’t like the cold, but don’t worry, in this article we’ll look at ways to feel better during the fall and winter.
What is Seasonal Depression?
Seasonal Depression, also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), is a feeling of sadness or moodiness that typically happens when the season changes to fall and winter, and disappears when spring starts.
Activities for Mental Health
It’s important to not brush these symptoms or feelings off, but it’s also important to not assume you have SAD as soon as you feel a little sad during the winter, so here are some activities you can do to feel better.
Sleep well. Make sure to not hold back on rest, since it’s needed to function properly, and can be affecting your mood.
Tips to sleep well include not taking caffeine when your bedtime is approaching, exercising daily (though not when your bedtime is close), maintain a cold and dark bedroom, taking natural supplements to sleep if needed, doing quiet and calming activities until the feeling of sleepiness returns, not eating a lot before bed, and limiting screen time 1 hour before bed.
Hydrate. Hydration is another important element if you want to feel better, enjoying a herbal tea could also help. Make sure to limit alcohol as well, since it dehydrates the body.
Tips to stay hydrated include drinking water as soon as you wake up and before meals, drink water before going to bed, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, which have a high water content, install a water app to set reminders and track your water intake, and use a water bottle which tracks your water intake.
Be social. Human interaction has been proven to be a key factor in staying mentally well. It can also help you enjoy fun activities and relax for a couple of hours every week.
Tips to stay social, even when you’re an introvert include starting small conversations with people, being a good listener, giving compliments often, finding a hobby that includes being social, hosting monthly brunches and meetings, calling friends and making plans, having small talk with strangers, signing up for engaging classes, and recognizing when you might want to slow down, since it’s all a gradual process.
Stay active. Even though it can be hard to enjoy exercise when it’s cold outside, it’s still important to stay active throughout the day.
Tips to stay active this winter include finding an exercise partner, make it a goal to get to the gym, exercise during your lunch break, think about the mental health benefits, plan ahead, put on your exercise clothes as soon as you get home, finding sports and making them your hobbies, or joining a class.
Eat well. They say you are what you eat, and if you’re eating poorly, it can impact your energy levels, mood, and concentration levels.
Tips to eat well include limiting sugary drinks, including fermented foods in your diet, buy fresh meat instead of processed foods, have fruit or vegetables as your snack, add vegetables to your dishes, don’t eat in front of the TV, plan your meals ahead of time, have a varied menu, limiting soda intake, limit fried or greasy foods, limit alcohol, have breakfast, include your favorite foods, use herbs and spices instead of salt, and make sure to eat that cheat meal every once in a while, since the most important part of a good diet is balance.
Volunteer. The winter months are a wonderful time to volunteer, with Christmas right around the corner, there are plenty of places looking for volunteers!
Some benefits of volunteering include having a sense of purpose, having a sense of community, meeting new people and friends, increased social skills, improving self–esteem, learning valuable skills, getting skills which can help find a job, bringing fun into your life, being happier, and getting out of your comfort zone.
Start a project. Starting a project, such as training yourself to run a marathon, reading books, listening to podcasts, cooking, baking, etc, can give you a hobby and help keep you busy or improve yourself.
Some helpful tips to start a project include determining the purpose of the project, defining goals and objectives, estimate the duration of said project, estimate the costs, study if it’s feasible, document the project, etc.
Conclusion
So to sum it all up, winter can be a tough time for some, fun for some, and busy for others, but the important thing is to try to stay happy and healthy, or work towards it. Remember to set goals, find hobbies, be social, and enjoy the time with family and friends.
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