As winter creeps in and the days continue to get shorter, it can be hard to keep your ENERGY levels up. Ah, shorter hours of daylight are not fun! Do you feel like you’re a victim of the “winter blues”? They are characterized by lack of motivation and low energy. We definitely understand how it can be hard to stay energized when you feel like you’re never outside during daylight, so here are a few tricks we use to avoid the winter blues:

• Take a brisk walk outside. This is one of our favorites and it always boosts our energy and mood. Use your lunch break or take a call outside. If you’re living somewhere that gets cold in the winter, you’ll find yourself wanting to walk quickly to keep warm. When it’s cold out we actually sometimes just break into a run to stay warm!  This has a double benefit – it gets you outside during the daylight (sunlight is known to boost people’s mood and increase energy) and gets your blood pumping!
• Plan rewards for yourself. We love to go to the spa at the end of a hard week. If we have a spa appointment, it gives us something to look forward to all week, which keeps our spirits and energy high.
• Spend your weekends outside. Plan outdoor winter activities for the weekend – skiing, ice skating, sledding, building snowmen with your kids. Embracing the season and all it has to offer will improve your mood, which in turn will boost your energy, and will get you spending time outside.

As always, make sure to eat a healthy diet and get enough sleep!

What do you do to boost your mood and energy in the winter?