Winter Wellbeing

Top tips for taking care of your wellbeing in winter

Produced by the Wellbeing in Mind Team

Quick show of hands… who finds that their motivation or mood drops in winter?

There are a few factors specific to winter which may contribute to your feelings:

• Mornings and nights get darker
• Days feel shorter
• Weather changes
• Busier time of year
• Exams coming
• Cold and flu season

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How can winter impact our emotional wellbeing?

• Lower in mood
• Feelings of anxiousness and worry
• Stress
• Loneliness
• More tired than usual
• Less energy to do the things we enjoy

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How can we start to improve our Winter Wellbeing?

Start with one small thing a day:-

• Make your bed
• Go for a walk
• Text a friend
• Listen to music

Doing just one small thing can help to improve your wellbeing as it helps to kickstart motivation and achievement.

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Five Ways to Wellbeing!

Connect

• Connecting with others is important in winter, as it can be a lonely time of year. We may find it harder to do due to busy schedules and bad weather
• It’s so important for our wellbeing to connect positively with others.
• Sharing our experiences and listening to others’ experiences helps us to learn, grow and feel less alone!
• Some of the benefits of social connection include lower rates of low mood and anxiety, a higher self-esteem and better emotional regulation skills!

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Be active

• It’s important to keep up our usual routines and exercise in winter.
• Exercise releases endorphins - natural chemicals produced in the body boost happiness.
• Research has shown that a daily one-hour walk in the day could be as helpful as light treatment for coping with the winter blues.
• Weather may decrease our motivation – it’s important to find indoor activities that keep us active!

Take notice

• Reminding yourself to take notice can help you to be aware of how you're feeling and help you to manage this.
• It’s also important to take notice of how others are feeling and how you may be able to help.
• Take notice of the seasons changing and how it impacts the things around you, try to focus on the positives.
• In winter, there are many things we can take notice of to boost our wellbeing and bring us back in to the moment such as: Christmas decorations, smells of food and drink such as Christmas dinner and hot chocolate, the feel of our cosy clothes…

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Give

Research suggests that acts of giving, and kindness can help improve your mental wellbeing by:

• creating positive feelings and a sense of reward
• giving you a feeling of purpose and self-worth
• helping you connect with other people

While Christmas may be the time for giving gifts, it’s also important to give other things such as:

• Your time – give someone your time for them to talk about how they feel or to help them complete a task or revision.
• Random acts of kindness – making a cup of tea for someone, giving someone a compliment etc.
• A simple smile.

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Keep learning

We're always learning new things – often without realising it. Feeling like you're learning and developing can boost your self-esteem.

The Christmas holidays are a great time to not only continue your learning for school, but also to learn more about what you enjoy. For example, you could:

• Try out a new winter recipe!
• Listen to a podcast or audiobook about a topic you do not know about
• Try out a new hobby or skill you have been wanting to try
• Ask questions and learn from the people around you about their experiences

To summarise…

• In winter, our wellbeing can be affected due to the environment around us.
• It’s important to keep trying to do one thing towards our wellbeing a day, even if it is something small.
• Using the 5 Ways to Wellbeing is a great way to keep boosting our wellbeing.
• Even though this has been about wellbeing in winter, these tips can be applied all year round!

If you are struggling…

• Please speak to a trusted adult or member of staff at school.
• They can then help you or direct you to us for extra support!

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