My Approach to Fighting Winter Blues

 photo IMG_1198_zpsf3ea6fab.jpgAs the days get shorter and the nights get colder, many people feel like hibernating, especially someone like me who wasn’t made for winter 🙂 .  The cold weather is not helping me at all with my diet because it makes me feel like I need to eat more.  Also, because I don’t like to go outside this time of the year, I am less social but the internet helps a lot because I can socialize online.

What is commonly called cabin fever or the winter blues has been characterized as mild depression.  You feel less motivated and, in my case, like staying in bed most of the time.  The effects of the long, cold winter season affects different people differently.  Fortunately for me, my husband is home most of the time.  I always have someone to talk to and blogging also keeps me busy.  I can get out of the house whenever I want because my hubby will take me out wherever I want. I need to go out of the house at least once a week to fight the cabin fever.

Here are my approaches to keep my self sane during the winter:

 photo IMG_1194_zps0504631b.jpgExercise

– Even if I am not in the mood for exercising, I force myself to do zumba and/or yoga.  I like doing yoga in front of the fireplace so that I can watch TV with my hubby as well.  Exercise isn’t only for maintaining health and staying healthy, it is also a great stress reliever for me.  I don’t have to spend hours doing it, fifteen minutes is usually enough.

Healthy Diet

–  Try to eat healthy foods. Sometimes that is hard to do, especially during the winter but for some reason, my body has been craving veggies lately and other healthy stuff like fruit.  I am a little surprise but I will not complain.

Vitamin D

–  I hardly see the sun shine but I try to get as much of it as possible. I sometimes sit by the window to catch some rays but other times, I take two soft gels of Vitamin D3 every other day as a supplement.

Treat Yourself

–  After I get offline, I treat myself with a few sips of a margarita or red wine.  That helps me relax.  I go shopping whether I need to buy things or not.  Being in the store looking through clothes and shoes brings me contentment.

Get Enough Sleep

– I don’t know about you but I don’t have a problem getting a lot of sleep during the winter.  I usually ask my hubby to wake me up by six in the morning but I usually just roll over and go back to sleep. That is usually happens when I don’t have important work to do on my blog. If not, I get up at seven or eight.