At this time of year, many people tend to be quite worn out – with all the stress of christmas preparations, the bad weather, all the nasty bugs and viruses going around as well as the short days – so I thought that it would be a good idea to share some of my ideas for taking care of yourself through the harsh winter months.

First of all, take a tip from nature. Many creatures and plants have the bright idea of hibernating or semi-hibernating, so why not us? Use the dark nights to curl up in bed reasonably early with a good book, and you will find that you are more likely to enjoy a good night’s sleep, and wake feeling refreshed and re-energised. If you are the type of person who benefits from the odd nap, go with what your body is telling you and have 20 minutes or so during the day (no more than this, however, or you may not sleep so well at night).

Make sure that you eat well, and do not overload on carbs. There is a lot of stodgy food (and alcohol) about this time of year and if you overload yourself with sugar and carbohydrates, you will feel much more tired and lethargic. I find that for most of the time a good, balanced diet with lots of  low GI (glycaemic index) foods – this means foods which ensure your blood/sugar levels remain even, such as porridge, lean proteins, wholegrains, nuts and pulses as well as fruit and vegetables – is a fairly safe bet, although it is normal to want to indulge in the tempting stuff occasionally.

Try as much as you can to eliminate stresses in your life. I know that this isn’t always possible, but if you can keep things as simple and calm as you can, then you will feel much less stressed. I was finding that I was listening to a lot of news programmes on the radio, and watching them on the television. Now, for a lot of the time, I tend to listen to Classic FM and am feeling much better for it.

Do take supplements if you feel that you would benefit from them. Vitamin D has had a lot of press recently, and there are many people who are deficient in this particularly during the winter months. Have a look on the internet to find out more.

Lastly, find some time to just ‘be’ – this means doing absolutely nothing at all for 10 or 20 minutes each day. Call it meditation, self-hypnosis, mindfulness – it is a wonderful way to relax and recharge.

Take care,
Wendy x