Ways To Naturally Boost Your Energy Levels This Winter

The nights are longer and it’s still dark when we start work, so it’s tempting to curl up and sleep all winter. We’re all feeling tired, so we’ve looked at natural ways to boost your energy during these colder months.

Why do I get sleepy when I'm cold?

Scientist say that colder weather makes us feel tired, because our body temperature goes down too. They recommend having a cold bedroom if you want to sleep well during the summer months, so of course if your house is cold during the winter months, you’ll feel tired. 

Winter tiredness is linked to a lack of natural sunlight and vitamin D3. The body’s circadian rhythm sends signals to the brain to prepare for sleep when we’re spending so much time indoors. 

Winter fatigue symptoms

If you’re suffering from winter fatigue, you’ll know. It’s the kind of tiredness you can’t sleep off and you won’t have energy to do all the things you need to do each day – from cleaning the house to seeing friends. You’ll probably feel like napping throughout the day but also want to sleep in later in the mornings and go to bed earlier than usual.

Low energy levels in females

Women can sometimes have lower energy than men because of hormonal issues, but for the most part the reasons for winter exhaustion are similar in both males and females. This can be down to stress, nutritional deficiencies, lifestyle issues such as poor diet and drinking too much alcohol plus not exercising frequently.

How to increase energy levels during the Winter months

The simple way to increase your energy in winter is by building a healthy routine into each day. Meditate, do ten minutes of yoga, work out for half an hour and eat a nutritious diet. Go to bed at the same time every night so your body gets used to winding down to rest and restore each evening. Keep alcohol to a minimum and work to decrease your stress. 

What to eat in Winter to increase energy levels?

It’s tempting to turn to comfort foods in winter in a bid to increase energy, but it’s far better to rely on a consistent diet of healthy and nutritious vegetable soups, smoothies and lean protein. Stay away from sugar and carb laden meals or fried foods. They may seem to spike your energy initially, but they result in blood sugar spikes and crashes. Try starting your day with a bowl of oatmeal with a banana to give you a gentle source of slow burning carbs throughout the day and vitamin B. Have lean protein with veggies for lunch – a lean turkey stir fry with broccoli, or an omelette is ideal, then have a huge warming bowl of vegetable soup for supper. Sip water throughout the day and steer clear of too much caffeine or alcohol.

Best Winter exercise tips to boost energy

It really doesn’t matter what exercise you do, so long as you do some. A walk at lunchtime is perfect as you’ll benefit from the vitamin D3 from being out in natural sunlight. You could try doing cardio first thing for an endorphin boost or try twenty minutes of energy yoga.

Unwind with meditation & Yoga

It may not seem obvious at first, but meditation and yoga do help boost our energy. Some experts say relaxation is like turning a tap off and turning it back on. Once you relax, you’re able to truly focus once you’ve finished. Scientists have found that the body produces cortisol in response to stress. This exhausts us, but meditation and yoga neutralise cortisol, so you end up with more energy.

Get into Good Habits

It takes 30 days for the brain to form a habit. If you want to get in the habit of going to the gym each morning, simply get up and go for one month and after that it will become part of your routine. We all thrive on regularity and routine so try to get up and go to bed at the same time each day and build healthy habits into your days, while zapping less healthy ones.

Energy Supplements

While some people seem to get all they need from diet and exercise alone, most people need extra nutritional support. Lumity’s new super booster supplement Power On is formulated with Ginseng, CoQ1O, Vitamins B6, B12 and C, Riboflavin, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Folic Acid and Iron, this fast-acting supplement gives you an instant energy lift when you're under pressure.

Sunlight & Sleep

Humans run on an internal body clock known as the circadian rhythm. Circadian health means you sleep well, have more energy in the day and better skin. Modern life tends to throw this body clock off, so we all walk around feeling a little bit jet lagged. You can tweak yours so it’s in perfect working form by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, cutting back on television and blue light exposure from phones and laptops after 8pm and not eating after 7pm.

Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin because we ca top up our levels when we’re out in the sun. Most of us are deficient in the winter months so look for a quality supplement that contains a healthy amount of vitamin D3. It works to give you happiness and energy and you’ll notice the difference.