Ditching the Winter Blues

January is here and with it comes an overwhelming sense that winter will never end. Some people struggle more with the shorter days and limited amount of sunlight. While a few grumpy days are inevitable (especially if you live in Canada!), too many more than that and you can start to feel like you have cabin fever.

Here are a few tips and tricks to beat the blues!

1) Take a good vitamin D3 supplement in the winter. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that is stored in the liver and the fatty tissues of the body. Quite a bit of vitamin d can be made by our own body's through a process of using sunlight. In the summers, you can absorb enough sunlight to create 10,000IUs of vitamin d! Some signs of deficiency are depression, osteoporosis, autoimmune diseases, arthritis, and some types of cancer. 

2) Eat properly. I know this can seem like an easy one, but January is where I get most of my "food" confessions. Christmas and New Years have passed but the junk food remains in the cupboard. Throw out all of the processed foods and fill your cupboards with plenty of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and good quality meats. 

3) Get some exercise! I know you might feel like you just want to sit on the couch all day, especially after a long day at work, but that might be the worst thing for you. The hardest part is getting up, after that, pick one of your favourite work outs and get moving! The endorphins made from exercising will make you much happier. 

4) Use essential oils. This is one of my absolute favourite ones. If you have ever come to my home office, you know that I always have a diffuser or two running. Different oils have been shown to enhance moods and create calming and peaceful environments. Some of my favourite ones are Lemon, Black Pepper, Orange, Peppermint, Northern Lights Black Spruce, Frankincense, Rose, and Cypress. (This is the brand that I use - www.youngliving.com)

Try a few of these tricks and let me know what you think!