How to boost your mood in winter?

During the winter season, some people are more sulky than usual and the days seem more difficult to face, especially because it is colder and greyer.

Fortunately, this is temporary, so what can you do to boost yourself and get through the winter months more serenely?  

Here are 10 tips to implement on a daily basis: 

Get quality sleep 

Sleeping allows physical, psychological and intellectual recovery. Thus, when you wake up, your body is recharged. 

For a quality sleep, you must : 

• Set regular bedtime and wake-up times, 
• Limit exposure to lit screens before falling asleep and as soon as you wake up, 
• Use indirect and subdued lights when you wake up at night and do not look at the clock, 
• Sleep in the dark, 
• Avoid the consumption of drugs and alcohol, limit the consumption of tea and coffee before going to sleep and do not eat too rich a meal, 
• Make sure your room is quiet, dark, temperate and ventilated, 
• Have healthy eating habits, 
• Find a balance between rest, leisure and physical activities. 

Have a balanced diet 

In our diet, we find many valuable nutrients for our essential functions. In winter, the tendency is to eat dishes rich in starchy foods, red meat and dairy products. Nevertheless, it is important to maintain the intake of vegetables and fruits in order to limit the deficiencies in vitamins, minerals and trace elements that can contribute to the winter blues. 

Some foods eaten in larger quantities are conducive to a good mood, they stimulate the production of happy hormones, increase immunity etc... 

Also, taking food supplements can be recommended to boost your mood in winter. 

Take advantage of natural light outside 

Winter days are shorter, there is less sunshine. This is linked to our mood. This has a direct impact on our biological clock. 

Exposure to natural light as soon as we wake up allows our biological clock to synchronize with the alternation between day and night. This improves sleep at night, activates good mood, allows for a healthy heartbeat, helps to perform in an intellectual manner and favors decision making. 

To take advantage of this outdoor light, one can go for a walk in the fresh air, perhaps in the forest, and benefit directly from the sunlight. 

It is also possible to do light therapy sessions. 

Engage in physical activity 

Physical activity activates the heart rate, increases body temperature and produces endorphins. This promotes a state of relaxation, reduces pain and improves mood. 

Even if the temperatures outside are cooler, outdoor exercise is beneficial, as the body also expends more calories to regulate internal temperature. Physical activity also increases the number of white blood cells, which improve immunity which are needed to fight seasonal viruses. 

Before practicing any outdoor sport during the winter, warm up well, stretch actively, cover up well after exercise and stay well hydrated.

Enjoy your surroundings 

For good mental health, it is important to avoid withdrawal and loneliness as the social connection is important. It's the season for hot, hearty meals, so why not cook and gather your loved ones together for convivial moments? 

Also, the time spent in the house is generally more important, it is the occasion to make common activities with the members of the household. 

Taking care of yourself 

Winter is the occasion to put yourself in cocooning mode. You have to take care of yourself, look for softness and comfort, especially when it is grey and cold outside and raining. To do this, you just need to adopt daily gestures that soothe, practice activities that relax such as reading, painting, listening to music, and also contemplating the rain or snow with a cup of steaming tea or, more gourmand, a mug of hot chocolate, etc. 

Stimulate your self-confidence 

Having self-confidence allows you to maintain your optimism and good mood and improves your self-esteem. For this you must, for example: 

• Be proud of yourself, 
• Celebrate your successes, 
• Accept your failures, 
• Make positive affirmations on a daily basis, 
• Listen less to others. 

Laugh 

Laughing is good for the morale. In addition, it generates healthy physical changes in the body such as strengthening the immune system, increasing energy, decreasing pain and protecting against the harmful effects of stress. 

Studies show that when we stimulate particular facial muscles we feel a particular emotion. That's why, to be in a good mood, we should remember to smile as often as possible. 

Everyone has their own method of laughing. It can be provoked alone or with the help of exercises to release it. 

Wear color, decorate with color 

You should not hesitate to use warm colors in your wardrobe or in your decoration, they should bring fantasy. 

Researchers have also studied the impact of the color blue on our happiness. Thus, exposing ourselves to blue would allow us to increase our self-confidence, to reduce stress and would thus stimulate happiness. 

Each color has its virtues and influences our lives. According to other sources, it is yellow that brings good mood. It is synonymous with openness, clarity. It promotes optimism, increases concentration, memory, judgment and decision-making. 

Eliminate or reduce stressors 

First thing in the morning, there may be things or people that contribute to our bad moods or dampen the mood. Whenever possible, we need to get rid of this negative emotion. This can be done by surrounding yourself with positive people, or by dealing with a stressful issue quickly so that it doesn't haunt you. 

We need to learn to recognize negative behaviours and situations and implement defensive strategies that help us avoid succumbing to a downturn in our mood. 

The winter blues are not inevitable, and the tips mentioned above can be the keys to a peaceful winter, full of good vibes and in a good mood. 

For a few years now, we have been hearing more and more about positive psychology. A science of happiness or a personal development fad, positive psychology is defined as a science that optimizes happiness, as opposed to traditional psychology, which only aims to heal injuries. The idea of this concept is to encourage people to become more fulfilled in their lives. Positive psychology focuses on health, quality of life and well-being, on what makes humans resilient, happy and optimistic. 

It is to be distinguished from positive thinking, which is based on autosuggestion.

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