In the final part of The Spark’s ‘How to cope with the winter blues’ series, we’re offering a few more tips on keeping your mood up when the sun is going down.
You can catch up with part 1 and part 2 where we looked at how a ‘sexy raincoat’, not being Gordon Gekko and embracing the opportunities of the winter season are essential to beating the winter blues.
Tip 7: Stay hydrated
Staying hydrated is crucial to maintaining the healthy function of every system in our bodies. From the brain to the heart and muscles, hydration is vitally important. Water helps carry nutrients to your cells and flushes bacteria from your bladder. Not only that, dehydration is linked to anger, fatigue and mood swings.
To stay hydrated we are advised to consume around 1.2 – 2 litres of water each day depending on our local climate. In the winter the prospect of drinking 6-8 glasses of cold water is rather unappealing.
Try these tips on sneaky and easy ways to stay hydrated without having to actually drink 2 litres of water. Soon you will be beating the winter blues and feeling better.
Beating the winter blues – tip 8: Give yourself things to look forward to
In the darkest months, it can feel like there is not much to look forward to. Summer is a distant hope and January seems like a waste of a month. Beating the winter blues can often feel like a battle you cannot win. Fight back by giving yourself things to look forward to instead.
Making plans for the summer is an obvious one but also consider what you can look forward to during winter.
Make a list of favourite movies or albums and watch/listen to them, one per week, through the winter months. Plan time with friends (definitely including some funny ones as recommended in part 2) or spruce up your home with décor to make it a warm and inviting place to spend your evenings.
Counselling and support services
The winter months can be a difficult time for many of us. Practical tools and tips can often help but sometimes we need to dig a little deeper to understand the source of our unhappiness.
At The Spark, we have been providing counselling and support to individuals, couples, families and children for over 50 years. Our aim is to help clients better understand their emotions and experiences and to find ways to deal with them.
Find out more information about The Spark and our counselling services for individuals, couples and families.
Contact us via our contact form or freephone 0808 802 2088 to talk about how counselling could help you.
