Boost your winter wellbeing
Feeling cooped up, fed up and out of shape thanks to winter weather and Covid-19 restrictions? We have just the remedy. Follow health coach Lesley Waldron’s simple 10-point plan to help you get outdoors and on the path to health and happiness
Here we are at the beginning of the year. After a crazy and challenging 2020, we’re wondering where 2021 will lead us. But whatever has gone before, a shiny new year offers the possibility of a fresh start.
It is tempting to hibernate in the winter, hiding away until the weather improves. But I’d like to suggest an alternative approach, one that harnesses nature and the outdoors, to see you through the winter months and set you up for a healthier spring and summer. Because if 2020 taught us anything, it was that there is real, lasting benefit to getting outside, moving more and looking after our health, for both our mental and physical wellbeing.
1. GET OUTDOORS EVERY DAY
Even if it’s for just 10 to 15 minutes, studies show that a walk outdoors can help reduce stress levels, increase your focus and sense of wellbeing. If winter weather puts you off, try to remember that once you’re outside, it’s rarely as bad as it looks. Don’t hesitate – just pull on your waterproof jacket, a comfortable pair of shoes and go! You’ll be glad you made the effort – a walk outside improves energy levels and mood for the rest of the day.
2. BOOST YOUR HEART RATE
Getting your heart rate up – and getting out of breath – is an important way to improve the health of your heart and lungs. Your heart-rate boost could come from something as simple as walking briskly up a hill or steps in the park, an invigorating run, or a dance around the kitchen. Anything that gets you feeling puffed out will be working your lungs and your heart. Vigorous exercise also releases endorphins, and stimulates the production of feel-good hormones in your brain. So, even if you don’t feel good while doing it, you will do afterwards. If you’re resistant to exercise, considering how you might feel afterwards can be a good motivator. Initially, aim to do this for 30 minutes, two or three times a week, building up to five times a week.
3. BUILD YOUR STRENGTH
We often think of strength training as something done in a gym in order to build big muscles, but resistance training can be both more creative and more beneficial than working on a six-pack or big biceps. When we create resistance in our muscles, those muscles pull on our joints and bones and encourage our bones to strengthen – strong muscles mean strong bones. We naturally start to lose muscle mass as we age, so it’s important to keep using our muscles, to both boost our metabolism and help us age well.
If you haven’t exercised much lately, a simple squat or stand-up/sit-down from a park bench will help challenge the big muscle groups in your legs. You could do a weighted lunge with a backpack on your back, a plank on a park bench to work your tummy muscles, a deadlift with a broomstick, or a press-up on a fallen tree in the woods, gradually increasing the number of repetitions you do each week.
4. GET A DAILY NATURE FIX
Time outside in nature is good for your physical and mental health on many levels. Did you know that trees and plants release chemicals and oils (phytonicides) that communicate with our own biochemistry to improve our immune systems? The Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing – time spent slowing down and relaxing in woodlands – has been proven to reduce blood pressure in just 15 minutes.
5. PAY ATTENTION
In her book, Emma Mitchell encourages readers to slow down and pay attention to the changes in nature through the seasons. It’s immensely relaxing for the brain and for our screen-trained eyes to slow down and take time to really look at what surrounds you on your daily walks. You can see signs of new life and growth even in the depths of winter, under the leaf litter in the park or woods, or in the buds of leaves on the bare bushes and trees. Notice how the light starts to change even in January and
February. If you have the winter blues, this simple strategy can give you hope for the spring and summer and warmer months ahead.
6. OTHER WAYS TO SPEND TIME OUTDOORS
If sitting still isn’t really your thing, there are other ways to use your time outside. Consider sketching, painting or taking photos as a way to connect with the natural world. You can make temporary art works with shells or stones on a beach, or fallen leaves and twigs in the woods. Or perhaps see how many different trees, flowers or birds you can identify, using a guide or an app. Maybe you could give fishing or outdoor yoga a try. Anything that gets you focused on your environment helps you connect with both nature and the present moment.
7. KEEP CONNECTED
We all have a need for human connection. Companionship is so important to our wellbeing – something many of us are all too aware of at the moment. As we look forward to a healthy, happy 2021, a key part will be how to keep connecting, whatever the year throws at us. The outdoors is perfect for that, even in the winter months. Whether a walk, run, swim, a bike ride or even a picnic, including friends and family makes great opportunities to connect and to move more. Find a run buddy, or arrange walking meetings to include more activity in your week. I relished all those opportunities to connect in 2020, and will continue to do so in the year ahead. In the wise words of Brené Brown in her book The Gifts of Imperfection, we are, after all, “wired for human connection”.
8. MANAGE YOUR MICROBES
A healthy microbiome – which means a good balance of friendly bacteria in the intestine – has a strong link to many aspects of health and wellbeing, and to the immune system. It has been getting a lot of attention in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic, because a healthy microbiome appears to reduce inflammation and produce vital nutrients to support our immune response. Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London and author of The Diet Myth, has simple advice: aim to limit your intake of processed foods with sweeteners and preservatives and instead eat a wide variety of foods, mainly plants – fruits, vegetables, olive oil, nuts and pulses. Eating a rainbow of different coloured fruit and vegetables each day helps you get a broad mix of nutrients and keeps your microbes happy. Eating fermented foods – such as probiotic yoghurt, kombucha and sauerkraut – will also boost the beneficial bacteria in your gut.
9. EAT WITH THE SEASONS
Eating seasonally is good for the planet, your wallet and your health. When you eat foods that are in season and grown locally they won’t have travelled as far and probably won’t have been kept in storage for as long, which means they retain more of their nutrients. A local vegetable box scheme, farmers’ market or farm shop is a good place to start.
The winter months are perfect for making nourishing soups and casseroles with seasonal veg. In season in winter are Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, celeriac, chicory, kale, leeks, parsnips, potatoes, purple sprouting broccoli, salsify, shallots, swede and turnips. I love Anna Jones’ cookbook The Modern Cook’s Year for seasonal recipe inspiration. See if you can find new ways to use a seasonal food every week.
10. BEWARE OF DIETS
At this time of year, when many of us are regretting Christmas indulgence, we sometimes feel persuaded by advertising and social media posts about the latest diet fad. But don’t get carried away and think restricting your calorie intake is the only way to recover from Christmas. The best way to make lasting change is to see what you can add to your daily food intake, rather than cutting out everything you love. Increase your vegetable intake, drink more water and eat regular meals rather than snacking. Take a bit of time to plan meals, find new recipes and shop accordingly, so that you don’t get home to an empty fridge and ‘give in’ to processed foods or a takeaway.