Vitality Perspective “The solstice is a reminder that even in darkness, change is quietly unfolding.”
With the days at their shortest, the season feels especially quiet and inward, and I’ve noticed that winter asks me to slow down a little more than I sometimes want to do – to trade constant momentum for comfort, warmth, and intention. I’ve really started to nail what habits keep me happy, grounded, and motivated during this darker stretch of the year. As we learn to surrender together to the stagnance, I invite you to implement my top 6 Winter Wellness habits into your routine.
1. Get Daily Sunlight Exposure
Even when it seems like the Sun is barely there in the Winter, daily sunlight and time spent outside is a personal non-negotiable for me! Exposure to natural light has a profound impact on your health and mood, regulating your circadian rhythm and boosting serotonin production, helping significantly in fighting off the winter blues.
Implementing it in Your Routine:
- When you’re not bundling up, aim to get outside for 20-30 mins each day
- Go outside within the first 10 minutes of waking up to boost your circadian rhythm
- Make it a daily goal to take a 10 minute outdoor walk, 2x/day
- Spend time near windows with natural light when the weather is extra crummy
2. Engage in Enough Social Interaction
Connection is primal and a necessity to our health – social interaction increases oxytocin production, the “love” hormone, supporting feelings of contentment and closeness.
Implementing it in Your Routine:
- Host holiday dinner parties with your mates
- Plan cozy cafe/lunch dates; try a menu item you’ve never had
- Attend local events designed for meeting like-minded people
- Call/facetime friends and family to stay caught up
3. Consume Warm, Nourishing Foods
Consuming warm, seasonal foods can uplift your mood and boost serotonin, making you feel more relaxed and content as well. Eating the produce of the season also nourishes and nurtures your body, ensuring you get all its nutrients while it’s ripe this time of year.
Implementing it in Your Routine:
- Eat root veggies, whole grains, and foods rich in omega-3s to support brain health and energy
- Make a warm oatmeal for a comforting breakfast with a serotonin boost
- Make a delicious seasonal soup complete with potatoes, carrots, squash, and protein of choice – or lentils for plant power!
- Make a homemade bone broth for a powerful nutrient and immunity punch
Winter Recipe Idea: Healthy Chocolate Swirl Oat Muffins
Like my honorable mention of a warm bowl of oatmeal for a cozy, nourishing breakfast, another great option is some healthy breakfast muffins for a fiber-filled treat. Try these healthy chocolate swirl oat muffins from my site.
They’re made with whole ingredients like bananas, oats, natural sweetener like maple syrup or honey, and totally customizable to fit any dietary preference.
4. Incorporate Daily Movement That Feels Good
When it just feels harder to find the motivation to get off the couch and break a sweat, it’s often one of the best and most important things you can do for yourself this season to support your emotional well-being; and also, immunity.
Implementing it in Your Routine:
- Find movement you enjoy this season, whether it’s inside, or outside
- Make fitness goals/workout with a friend to keep each other accountable and make it fun
- Gentle movement is still movement! Walking, yoga, strength training can all help with feeling sluggish
5. Maintain a Good Skincare Routine
Winter air can leave your skin feeling drier than ever, so take time to give it some extra TLC, and relaxation for you, too.
Implementing it in Your Routine:
- Moisturize, day and night
- Don’t neglect SPF, just because the sun’s not out
- Keep lip balm handy to curb dried out, cracked lips
- Take time for a full self care and skin day
Self and skin care is essential any time of year, but when your mental health often needs a little extra in the Winter, use some of these ideas to wind down and chill.
Winter Self Care Ideas
- Light a candle – set the mood and ambiance
- Do a hydrating face mask (sleepover essential)
- Relax in an aromatherapy/bubble bath
- Indulge in an epsom salt soak🥰
- Layer up and venture out on brisk walk
- Treat yourself to a facial or massage
- Bake something yummy
6. Embrace the Slow of the Season
Though life can never truly slow down, Winter has a way of making everything feel a little more so – a break from school, time off of work. It’s the perfect season to be a little gentler with yourself and understand that it’s nature’s rhythm to slow down this time as well.
The lower amount and quality of sunlight during these days is by design – though it does affect melatonin production, making us feel tired earlier. With the shorter days and longer nights, we benefit from more rest during this period, and that can be one of the best ways to be kind to yourself and listen to your body’s needs.
Support Your Mind and Body This Season and Every Season
As the winter solstice reminds us, this season isn’t about pushing harder, but about honoring rest, warmth, and simplicity. These habits are just small ways I try to support my body and mindset when the days feel shorter and slower.
Being a go-go-go person, slowing down or feeling like I’ve been “unproductive” is a tough feeling for me to navigate. However, I’m trying my best to stop and smell the roses even more this season because I’ll be moving away to college in just a few weeks, and sticking to the basics keeps me grounded.
Growth is upon me, and I’m learning just how it doesn’t always happen abruptly, but manifests quietly, too, even in a season of stagnance. These are the ways I am choosing to move through Winter, and I hope that however you choose to do so, it feels gentle, intentional, and nourishing in its own way.
