The transitional period from summer to autumn can be difficult for many people, the darker and cooler days can often leave us feeling un-energised, unmotivated and basically wanting to curl up into a ball. However, autumn can also be a wonderfully beautiful time of the year, and so it’s important to understand what you can do to maximise your potential and stay energised as we come into a new season.
Here, Abbas Kanani, pharmacist and health adviser for leading UK online pharmacy Chemist Click shares his seven tips for staying energised this autumn.
Embrace the new season
The changing seasons are wonderful and we are very lucky to live in a country that experiences this beauty. Autumn can be a fantastic season, the air turns crisp and the colours change to brown and gold hues, making you feel excited for a new chapter and a change. Try to alter your mindset and rather than run from it, embrace it and use the fresh start to set yourself new goals and new challenges. Looking at the change in season in a more positive way will also allow you to adapt to the changes more easily, such as the cold weather and dark nights.
Boost your immunity
As the days turn colder and become shorter it’s imperative to remain on top of your diet and wellness routine. Often, this time of year our immunity could do with a boost, especially when there’s an increased chance of catching a cold or illness off someone else. You should ensure that you’re eating a nutritious and balanced diet, whilst also eating the hearty, warming food that are common this time of year such as soups and broths. Vitamin C is your best friend, so making sure you eat foods rich in this such as citrus fruits, strawberries, tomatoes and bell peppers is vital to your overall health and wellbeing.
Get outside
Getting fresh air into your lungs is imperative for good health and to stay energised, and as the air turns cooler this will help you to feel invigorated and motivated. I would advise going on a lunchtime walk each day to help keep your body and mind active, not only this, a walk outside amongst the changing autumnal colours will do wonders to your overall mood.
Set yourself some new goals
New seasons are always a great time to set yourself some new goals and a list of things you’d like to achieve over the next few months. In some respects, autumn is the best season for this, as there is always a sense of new beginnings in the air and something quite lovely about setting new goals in September/October time. Writing down a list of these things you’d like to see yourself doing will help you to make them happen, you may want to keep this list visible to you so you can remind yourself daily and this will help keep you motivated.
Stay active
Exercise is the best thing you can do to help keep your mind, soul and body energised. It can sometimes be tough to keep a workout routine as the weather turns colder and the mornings and evenings are darker, but if you can it will make all the difference to your overall mental and physical wellbeing. Try to keep to a workout schedule, and if you do find the mornings and evenings hard, getting some exercise over your lunch break is always a good idea.
Explore new areas
Exploring on your weekends is a great way to get outside, stay active and boost your mood. Autumn is a beautiful time to try new walks and explore new towns as often the colours are picture perfect. If you live in a city, why not explore a new area you haven’t been to before, or a park that will have lots of autumnal colours – getting out and about on your weekends will help you to feel accomplished come Sunday night and you will feel as though you’ve had a reset.
Get plenty of sleep
Getting a good night’s sleep is the foundation of good health, and helps to support a healthy immune system and sleep cycle. Luckily, the darker nights can help produce melatonin earlier, the hormone which makes us sleepy, so you should be able to keep to a good sleep routine and get to bed at a decent time each night. Try to stay consistent with your sleep and ensure that you get eight hours of sleep per night as this will allow you to feel your best the next day and remain energised.
