Most experts agree that there’s really never a bad time to start adopting healthy habits that can increase your energy, enhance your mood, and give you a sense of routine and consistency that can improve productivity. But if there’s one time of the year when habit changing reigns supreme, it is often wintertime, when the pace feels slower and there’s more opportunity for downtime and reflection.
The overindulgence that tends to accompany the holiday season is another major motivator for people to consider ways to “get back on track” with their health goals. “We tend to end the year with a lot of decadence, overeating and over-celebrating, and the cold weather tends to limit the amount of activities we’re doing, which can make us feel off-balanced,” explains Roger E. Adams, Ph.D., doctor of nutrition and owner of Eatrightfitness. “Just like anyone who gets restless from sitting too long, this happens in the wintertime when we don’t have our normal activity patterns, so it spurs us to get creative and eat healthier to combat the drop in activity or find other ways to be active.”
There’s no denying that the promise of a new year ahead, not to mention warmer months coming up on your calendar, can lend itself to a great opportunity to start fresh and set new intentions. To help inspire you to make the most of these colder months, here are some expert-recommended health habits to start during winter.