Sage Sheffield

What are tips for Winter wellbeing?

Winter can be the hardest months of the year for most people. We hope that our wellbeing Winter tips can offer some solace and motivation to keep physically and mentally healthy during the cold season. 

1. Get outside, even when it’s raining. 

It can be really difficult to drag yourself outside during the cold and wet months. Despite the weather being dreary, some natural light and fresh air – a change of scenery – can help your wellbeing in Winter. Spend time in nature. Maybe go to a charity shop and buy a raincoat to make the weather more bearable? 

 

2. Stay connected to others. 

It can be really easy to ‘hibernate’ in Winter. Socialising and reaching out to each other can feel like a chore. It’s worth noting that everyone feels this way and you are not alone. With this in mind, we encourage you to stay connected. This could be: joining a socialising group at your local community centre, calling friends or family for a natter, or even going to the supermarket to buy food, instead of ordering it to your home. How you find connection in Winter will be unique to you. 

 

3. Exercise and stretch regularly. 

Moving your body will awaken your mind and boost your mood too. All exercise counts – whether that’s doing housework or going for a walk. You may want to join a gym or a sports group. Exercise can be a lot of trial and error before you find something you enjoy and that fits around your weekly routine without tiring you out too much. However, sometimes we forget that simple movements can make a big difference. Simply stretching every day will keep your body feeling active.

 

4. Practice gratitude.

Gratitude means to be thankful for the little things. When there’s a grey cloud hanging over you (quite literally) in the cold season, finding joy in the little things throughout the day can help uplift your mood. Sometimes, gratitude can be tough to find. It can take training your brain to find joy in the small things, such as the first sip of tea in the morning, the colour of autumn trees, or the person who smiled back at you in the street. Writing one thing down every day that you are thankful for could help you find daily gratitude. One glimmer of joy a day could be 365 joys a year – that’s a lot of things to be happy about. 

 

5. Look after your physical health.

Looking after your physical health could be doing small changes that can keep up your Winter wellbeing practices, which could include taking vitamins, seeing your GP for a flu jab or COVID-19 booster, stopping smoking and reducing your alcohol intake.

winter wellbeing food

6. Fuel your body with comfort food, fruit and vegetables. 

Everyone’s energy levels drop in Winter, so we need to naturally eat more food. Although it can be tempting to reach for sugary snacks and comforting carbohydrates, we must also fuel our bodies with natural goodness, like fruits and vegetables. There could be local markets or fruit and vegetable stalls that will provide locally grown goodness, usually at a cheaper price than big brand supermarkets. What’s more, here at Sage, whilst growing our own fruit and vegetables on our allotment, we also provide our members with a healthy home cooked meal after every session.

 

7. Find Winter essentials to keep warm. 

If you are struggling to afford heating, there are community centres and libraries that can act as a safe place for warmth. Additionally, if you’re on benefits or universal credit, you may be eligible for a payment to heat up your home. Please speak to your job centre about this. There are also charities that can help with this too.

 

8. Prioritise a sleeping pattern. 

Sleep quality in the cold season can be different for each person. Some may sleep too little and others sleep too much. There are lots of ways to practise a good sleeping routine, some of which could be: setting alarms and sticking to them, no screens 2 hours before bed, avoiding drinking alcohol and smoking. To get ready for a good night’s sleep, you may have to try familiar or new tactics. To complement the advice from above, you may consider: reading a book or a magazine, meditation, journaling, listening to a relaxing podcast or an audiobook before bed. 

winter tips art

9. Get creative. 

Experiment and express yourself through creativity. This could be anything – making art out of nature, painting, building, writing and crafting. If you’re new to creating something and struggling to start, approach things with a level of ease. Relieve the pressure by not getting bogged down with whether it has to be ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ Simply look forward to the expression of creativity. Go on, you’ll surprise yourself!

 

10. Ask for help.

This is an essential tip for winter wellbeing. If you are struggling to keep physically and mentally healthy during the cold season, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Friends, family, colleagues, medical professionals and charities are here to offer some solace. 

 

11. And most importantly, remember to relax.

Stress can have a big strain on our physical and mental health. You could try techniques like creating a worry jar. This is where you write down all your worries and put them in a jar, and then decorate the jar. This is so you cannot see the worries, as they are out of sight and out of mind. A problem shared is a problem halved.

 

Final thoughts 

Although it can sometimes be tough to keep doing all the above during the coldest and darkest months of the year, we hope you can manage some of our tips to improve Winter wellbeing. 

At SAGE, we can offer help to our members. If you’d like to know more about what we do here at SAGE, please get in touch.

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