Cold hands, warm heart: How getting outside can cure your wintertime blues
The long, dark days of winter can be tough on mental and physical health, but experts say braving the cold can help.
“In wintertime, sometimes people feel isolated. One of the things I like to encourage for people is understanding that the benefits of being out, moving and active are not only for your physical being but for socializing and being with other people of like mind,” said Claudia Gunter, a conservation and experiential programming aid for the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. “There's health — physical and mental — attributes to being outside.”
Gunter, whose team works to create programs that bring people into the forest preserves, said she finds herself just as busy in the winter as in the summer. Activities include snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, sledding, ice skating, winter birding or simply going on a winter hike.
“We tap into their inner child to explore and know that life continues even in the wintertime,” Gunter said in a district blog post. “It just helps to beat those winter blues. I tell people it reduces stress, it puts you in a better mood, and the physical activity kicks in those endorphins.”
Dr. Dorothy Sit, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University, said in the winter, people are susceptible to what’s called seasonal affective disorder. Otherwise known as SAD, the condition is a form of major depressive disorder with a seasonal pattern.
The condition affects 0.4% of the overall U.S. population — though that figure jumps to between 3.3 and 4.2% for children and adolescents. And when people are asked to self report using a questionnaire, the percentage can be as high as 10%.
“People can start to feel the effects in the fall, and then it progresses into the winter. It can even start very late, very late summer into the fall, when the amount of light that is in the environment starts to dip,” Sit said.
Known strategies to tackle SAD include artificial bright-light therapy under the guide of a clinician, taking up a new hobby and outdoor exercise.
“People who are experts in psychotherapy have explored reconstructing how we view winter. Taking on new hobbies or building in activities that can produce feelings of reward or engagement can provide a little bit of an uplift,” Sit said. “Maybe engage in a new activity or new sport, whether it's cross country skiing or snowshoeing, something that can allow us to enjoy (the season).”
For those who are looking to try something new but aren’t sure where to start, forest preserve programmers like Gunter lead events each week, with equipment often available for lending.
One of Gunter’s personal favorite winter activities is a winter sensory hike, in which participants focus on what they can see, hear, smell and touch throughout the walk, paired with a journaling session.
“It’s just about taking time out to be in the moment and be present,” she said.
Gunter added that properly preparing for being outside by wearing a hat, scarf, gloves and extra layers is especially important when trying out winter activities.
And if there’s something on your list that you’re hesitant to try, a little homework can go a long way.
“Homework could be something as simple as looking up the trail or the location, and possibly reaching out to the person or the group that's leading the activity. No question is dumb,” Gunter said.
• Jenny Whidden is a climate change and environment writer working with the Daily Herald through a partnership with Report For America supported by The Nature Conservancy. To help support her work with a tax-deductible donation, see dailyherald.com/rfa.