Lauren Lehmkuhl
It’s that time of year - holiday cheer with a side of winter blues!
Staying motivated, healthy, and happy during the change of season can sometimes be difficult. It’s natural for energy levels to feel a bit lower, especially if we are battling seasonal colds and holiday stress. Darker days can lead to dips in motivation and enthusiasm for getting out of bed each day.
Without the sun on our side, it's important to incorporate lifestyle and dietary choices that support mental health/energy levels! Let’s take a look at different ways you can support your health and boost your energy during the winter months.
Wake Up Earlier, Go to Sleep Earlier
One way to improve your energy levels in the darker winter months is to adjust your routine with the sun.
Depending on your work schedule and commitments, this might be much easier said than done. However, mimicking the sun can help keep your mood and energy levels stable during the darker months.
For many people around the world, the winter months often come with a much shorter window of daylight. Getting up early enough to enjoy that morning light can greatly benefit your health for a few different reasons.
Our absorption of Vitamin D is best in the morning sunlight. This time of year makes it harder to get enough essential vitamins. This is because the UV index drops in the winter and so does our body’s synthesis of vitamin D.
Vitamin D is essential for mood regulation and energy, which makes it a necessity to alleviate the seasonal depression. It is necessary for the production of serotonin in our brains, also known as one of our happy chemicals!
Getting morning light will also help regulate your circadian rhythm so that it’s easier to fall asleep at night. When our eyes are hit with light first thing in the morning, it can help energize us. Not only that, but sunlight first thing in the morning support the hormones that dictate our sleep-wake cycle.
Use a SAD Lamp
Depending on where you live, the winter months can be excruciatingly long, dark, and cold. Sometimes morning sunlight isn’t an option for weeks or months on hand.
Especially in northern latitudes, it may be extremely beneficial for you to invest in a SAD Lamp. These UV lamps imitate the sun to help your body produce vitamin D when sun exposure is low.
There is clinical research supporting the use of light therapy for SAD. Many people claim that it can help support mood, energy, and sleep!
With limited access to daylight, sitting by a SAD lamp for 20-30 minutes may help boost your energy and mood.
Eat the Seasonal Rainbow
Having nourishing meals during the colder months is essential, and don’t you just feel happier when you put together a colorful, aesthetically pleasing plate?
Eating the rainbow is necessary all year round, but during months when your energy is running lower and your immune system needs more support, having enough vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and antioxidants from bright, colorful foods is essential!
Phytonutrients can benefit the mood and also improve circulation, which can lead to better energy levels as more nutrients and oxygen are flowing throughout your body and get to the places they are needed quicker.
Sometimes it's hard to eat enough fresh produce in the winter months depending on where you live and what you have access to.
If you have some favorite fruits and veggies that are out of season in the winter, try stocking up on them in your freezer before the winter! Freezing produce retains its nutritional value and there are lots of recipes you can use them in to bring some color to your meals.
Eating produce that’s in season in the winter will both nourish your body and support the environment! If you aren’t sure what produce is in season near you, check out this awesome Seasonal Food Guide to find out!
When it’s cold, it can be nice to eat veggies prepared in a warm recipe. Here are some colorful winter meal ideas!
Balanced Meals = Balanced Blood Sugar = Balanced Energy
Keep your meals balanced to help your blood sugar stay balanced!
Spikes and drops in our blood sugar can lead to energy crashes and can poorly affect sleep.
Although it’s normal for our diets to change during the holiday season with all the delicious sweets and special meals, make sure that you’re also consuming balanced meals with healthy fats, lean proteins, and complex carbohydrates to support your energy levels.
Enjoy the treats - but try to pair any high-sugar foods with protein and fat to help slow digestion and prevent a massive blood sugar spike and crash. Having a balance can help prevent lethargy after eating - unless you’re looking for that post-meal nap!
Swap Out Your Afternoon Caffeine for Natural Energy
Due to the cold and dreariness, it can be easy to crave more hot caffeinated beverages than we normally do to get through the day.
Without as much sun and light our body can naturally feel more tired and unmotivated, however, relying on afternoon caffeine can actually disrupt your circadian rhythm and make it harder to fall asleep at night.
It can take up to 10 hours to clear caffeine out of your system, so having caffeine at any time except in the morning may be hindering your sleep quality.
Instead, swap out your afternoon coffee for some cozy cocoa! Chocolate, especially high-quality cacao, can boost your energy levels by promoting blood flow in the body and brain. That’s why you might feel a “buzz” from eating chocolate! Here’s a delicious and healthy cacao recipe - just mix all the ingredients together and heat them up on the stove:
- Raw cacao powder (cocoa powder works too)
- Your favorite type of milk
- Honey or another sweetener
- Cinnamon
- Cayenne (also boosts blood flow!)
- Any other spices or toppings you desire!
Take Care of Your Gut Health
Did you know that 90% of your serotonin is produced in your gut and that it plays a role in the production of pretty much every neurotransmitter in your brain?
Keeping up motivation and energy are some of the main responsibilities of our neurotransmitters, so promoting gut health with our dietary and lifestyle choices plays an essential role in how energized we feel each day.
To improve gut health, eat lots of fiber-rich foods like vegetables, whole grains, seeds, and prebiotic-rich foods like onion, garlic, and dandelion greens. Healthy fats, like olive oil and omega-3 fatty acids from fish, benefit the gut as well by reducing inflammation. Additionally, including fermented foods in your diet like kimchi, sauerkraut, and kefir can help support your microbiome!
Boost Energy with Daily Movement
It can be un-motivating to exercise in the winter months, but it’s so important to help maintain energy levels and improve your mood and sleep. Exercise helps circulate adequate oxygen and nutrients throughout your body to keep all your organs running smoothly. Improving your cardiovascular health and your lung capacity will positively impact your energy levels!
Exercise also helps boost feel-good neurotransmitters like endorphins, which will give you a more positive mindset in your day and help you feel motivated.
Aiming for about 30 minutes a day of exercise is ideal, and this can be done in any way that gets your body moving - walking, dancing, yoga, biking, yard work, and more! If going outside to exercise is too daunting, consider doing some at-home YouTube videos, finding a gym close to your house, or getting some home equipment.
Consider Taking Ginseng
In ancient Chinese medicine, ginseng is a plant that has been used for thousands of years to balance your physical and emotional responses and improve energy. Some studies have found that it may improve your body’s adaptation to stress and regulate energy levels.
However, it’s not recommended to take ginseng as a long-term solution, it’s better to use it during times of stress or fatigue for a few weeks at most at a time. So if you’re recovering from an illness or you’re feeling run down, it might help to take some ginseng for a while to get back on your feet!
Here’s a ginseng supplement by a reputable brand: Pure Encapsulations Panax Ginseng.
Stay Hydrated
Are you drinking enough water each day?
In the colder months, it can be easy not to notice your body’s thirst cues and forget to drink enough water. Water is important for energy balance, so make sure to stay hydrated to help avoid the winter blues.
If you tend to avoid water because it’s generally colder from the tap, try drinking hot water! In ancient Chinese tradition, hot water is commonly drunk to benefit cold and humidity balance in the body.
So if you need hydration and want a warm beverage, just heat up some water and put a squeeze of lemon in for flavor. Or, get your hydration from a delicious cup of herbal tea! We get hydrated from all types of fluids. Here are some of our favorites for the winter months:
Not sure if you’re drinking enough water each day? You can always test your hydration with a Vessel Test to determine if you need to add more glasses into your day!
Limit the Alcohol
Around the holiday season, it can be easy to drink a lot more than we normally do! Of course, many of us enjoy celebrating with our family and friends over some drinks, but in order to support your energy levels throughout the season, try not to make a regular habit out of drinking often.
Even having a drink or two before bed each night can disrupt your circadian rhythm and lead to poorer quality sleep, which in turn can hurt our energy levels. Alcohol can also negatively impact your gut health, which as we discussed above plays a big role in mood and energy management! It’s common to feel less motivated the day after drinking, which can lower our chances of eating well and exercising too.
So save your alcohol for the celebrations if you desire to, and try to limit your drinks during the normal weeks!
Time to Give Your Energy a Boost
Did any of these energy-boosting tips resonate with you?
You can always check in with your in-app Vessel nutrition coach for support with making some of these nutrition and lifestyle changes!
At the end of the day, taking time to build healthy habits will help support your energy for the dreary winter months, so that you can feel refreshed by the time spring rolls around!
