Top Tips for Boosting your Winter Wellness

Protect your skin

Skincare is often solely associated with summertime sun but taking care of your skin should happen all year round. In winter, both outdoor weather and indoor heating systems can quickly dry out your skin making it irritated and uncomfortable. Try boosting your winter wellness by keeping cracked skin covered, applying a healing balm and using moisturiser to keep your complexion healthy and balanced.

The other way to lessen dry skin is with a humidifier. Adding moisture into the air can mitigate the impact of your indoor heating system on your skin - and also help if you’ve succumbed to a winter cold. It can also be tempting to take pipping-hot showers in winter but this is another thing drying out your skin, try turning the temperature down to as cool as you can bear.

Keep eating healthily

When you’re in winter hibernation mode, all those festive treats and indulgent dinners become all the more appealing. But to achieve a sense of winter wellness, stick to healthy eating as much as possible. Make the most of root vegetables, high in potassium, and citrus fruits, high in vitamin C, which are in season over winter. It’s also a good idea to load up on vitamin D to boost immunity. It can be hard to keep up sufficient vitamin D levels through diet alone when there’s less sunshine so also consider supplements.

At a general level, a low-cholesterol, plant-based diet can really help to balance your nutrition, aid your digestion and improve heart health. Aim for foods that rich in vitamins and minerals, high in fibre, organic and unprocessed to improve your winter wellness. And for a real boost, try a wellness shot. Packed with fruits and vegetables, these mini marvels provide a healthy kick to start the day.

Stay active

It’s too cold, it’s too dark, it’s too rainy - it’s easy to find an excuse to avoid winter wellness and exercise, but this is when your body needs it most. Your immune system will thank you for the boost it receives from a regular dose of activity. This doesn’t need to be high-intensity exercise, an indoor class like yoga or simply going for periodic 20-minute walks all add up and have a positive impact. With more lazy days and comfort food, this regular exercise will also help your metabolism.

And the list of benefits goes on. Exercise releases endorphins, the ‘feel-good’ chemical, which can lift your mood and alleviate symptoms of depression. It can also improve your sleep - another strong way to combat the winter blues and boost winter wellness.

Maintain a sleep routine

Ask any parent of young children and they’ll tell you how important sleep is to help you function. The fewer hours of daylight can play havoc with our circadian rhythm and disrupt our sleep-wake cycle, meaning we must focus on winter wellness this festive season. Melatonin, our sleep hormone, can peak at the wrong times, making it difficult to fall asleep and wake up at the right times in our busy lives.

It can help to follow a bedtime routine to let your body know it’s time to sleep. Drink a soothing tea, listen to relaxing music and avoid anything that can overstimulate the senses. Try to go to sleep and wake up around the same time every day and if possible this winter, have some natural light to help your body start the day. Increasing exercise and avoiding too much caffeine and alcohol (a hazard of the holiday season) will also help improve sleep. 

Combat your stress

Winter - and especially the holiday season - can introduce more stress and anxiety with financial pressures, travel stress and social obligations coming to the fore. Try to recognise what exactly is causing your stress and develop ways to mitigate or reduce it.

Alleviate winter allergens

The allergens of spring and summer are well-known and documented but as we’re pushed to spend more time indoors, we can be confronted with inside allergens. Pets, dust mites and fireplaces can all trigger allergy symptoms which can be hard to escape from. And turning up the thermostat will only make it worse. Tackle your known allergens head on - vacuum regularly, bathe pets more often and introduce a humidifier.

Stay social

By this, we don’t mean social media. Get off the electronics and meet up with your friends in person. Go for coffee, find a good spot for a winter walk or find a local event and keep the good times going.

For a real winter wellness boost, book in at The Glass House

To help start that positive change, come and stay with us at The Glass House. A purpose-built detox and wellness retreat, you’ll find the space to breathe and focus solely on your own health and wellbeing. With expert support, progressive fitness facilities and spa treatments, you’ll discover a fresh sense of winter wellness.