The shorter, darker days of winter can affect your internal body clock, triggering tiredness and boosting hunger, but that’s no excuse to go in to hibernation! Get ready for the new season with our tips to putting a spring in your step this winter!
Warm from the inside
Flavoursome ginger root has been used since ancient times for its warming and soothing properties and its immune-strengthening qualities. Wind down and warm up with some tea with added fresh or dried ginger. Try making your own infusion by mixing 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger with 1 tablespoon fresh lemon or lime juice and 1 teaspoon honey stirred into a cup of hot water. Allow the mixture to steep for a few minutes before drinking. Choose Australian manuka honey, recently described as "the best natural antibiotic in the world," for a fix of antioxidants and minerals.
Other immune-boosting food sources include fresh garlic, which has potent antibiotic qualities, and also hot chilli peppers to boost your circulation and aid inner warmth. As always, enjoy plenty of seasonal vegies and fruits to help prevent winter coughs and colds.
Get moving
Don’t let your exercise regime go in to hibernation. A walk in the winter sunshine can refresh and rejuvenate. It also allows your skin to make vitamin D, even on cloudy days, which will help strengthen bones and teeth.
Try a new exercise like pilates to strengthen your core muscles or yoga to boost flexibility. Look out for the start of winter tango or salsa sessions or get a great cardio workout by swimming at an indoor pool.
Don't forget to spend the first five minutes warming up – your muscles will be tighter than in the summer months so you might be more prone to injury.
Whatever you do, do it regularly and you’ll improve circulation and warm your body. Plus, the colder temperatures in winter mean your body burns more calories just to keep warm, making any activity more effective.
Slurp some soup
The ancient Chinese believed that the body stores up nutrients during the winter months and eating well at this time was especially important to bring good health for the coming year; that’s how the custom of drinking laba rice soup came about. This soup is a mixture of rice, red beans, soybeans, peanuts, walnuts and chestnuts, which, according to traditional Chinese medicine, are potent anti-ageing foods. To make your own version, add any of the above ingredients to your regular vegetable, lentil or chicken soup.
Alternatively try some of our deliciously warming soup recipes like sweet pumpkin, bacon lentil and tomato, minted pea and spiced vegetable.
Have a massage
A regular massage could boost your overall sense of wellbeing by cutting anxiety and depression, lifting fatigue and allowing for more restful sleep.
Research shows that just after a massage and over the course of a treatment, cortisol levels (the stress hormone that lowers the body’s immune function) decrease, while chemicals like dopamine and serotonin (which are involved with mood, motivation, pleasure and sleep patterns) plus mood-enhancing, pain-reducing endorphins all increase.
Get a flu jab
For certain people it might be a good idea to have a flu jab. Sydney GP Sally Beath says, “Colds and flu tend to spread faster in winter because people stay in more, so the virus has a better chance of spreading via coughs and sneezes and by touching infected items like computer keyboards or telephones. If you are at a high risk of catching flu, elderly or have a chronic illness like asthma, visit your GP for a flu shot.”
Look after your skin
Colder temperatures outside and heating inside can dry out your skin, so keep hydrated with plenty of water. Treat skin to a regular facial by gently exfoliating your skin to remove dead skin cells and then lather up in plenty of moisturiser. Continue to wear sunscreen as UV rays can still penetrate your skin even on cloudy, winter days.