Self-Care Tips for a Busy Winter

Winter is hard work. We’re besieged with colds, even if we manage to avoid pandemics. Exercising is harder when the weather is unpredictable. We’ve got lots to do with Christmas shopping, preparing for the holidays and dealing with home and car maintenance, which are suddenly more important when the weather is bad. If you’ve got kids, you’ll also have to deal with their coughs and colds, a heavy timetable of activities at school, and weekends filled with fun, festive events. It’s a busy season, and often our own needs get pushed onto the back burner.

It’s normal for us to suffer from stress and become run down during the colder months. Unfortunately, this can lead to even more coughs and colds and make it much harder to enjoy all of the fun that the season has to offer. Here are some self-care tips to help you enjoy winter while taking care of yourself.

Get Some Sun

Seasonal depression is very common. Even those of us that don’t suffer from more acute depression can feel a little blue when the cold, grey days start to stack up. There will be days when there is little sunlight and huge amounts of grey clouds. So, when the sun comes out, make the most of it. Go for a walk, or jog outdoors or spend a little time in your garden. Even on cloudy days, getting some fresh air can improve your mood.

Take a Bath

After a busy day, there’s little better than sinking into a nice hot bubble bath with a mug of hot chocolate or a glass of wine. Enjoy this time to yourself, and let the warm water soothe any winter aches and pains that you might have.

Head to the Spa

If you can, clear a day, or half a day and head to a local spa. Get a massage, enjoy a sauna, spend time with a friend without juggling a long to-do list, and relish being treated for a change. It can also be a great time to get a skincare treatment. PICO Clinics offer skincare treatments, dermal fillers, CoolSculpting and other procedures that can help you to look and feel fantastic. Treating yourself with an aesthetic medicine treatment from PICO Clinics can be a great way to prepare for the stress of the festive season.

Develop a Winter Routine

Routines are great. They help us to be more productive and can improve our mental health. But you might find that your summer routines just don’t work in winter. In summer, you might work out after work, but in winter you might not be comfortable going for a run in the dark. Change your routines to suit the weather and the daylight hours but try to stick to them as much as you can.

Enjoy a Healthy Winter Diet

It’s normal to overindulge a little over the festive season. It’s also normal to decline salads in favour of warming comfort food. It’s also healthy, as long as you don’t do it all of the time. Eat healthily day to day, perhaps swapping summer salads for homemade winter soups, and then enjoy comfort and overindulgence guilt-free when you need to.

Taking care of yourself during the winter is harder. But usually, the key is prioritising yourself, and enjoying time for yourself. Try to do something for yourself, every single day, even if it’s just a short walk or reading a chapter of a book with a coffee.