How to Shake off Your Winter Hibernation

The trees are budding and the first flowers of #spring are starting to pop up — depending on your location, sometimes through a lingering snow. But you may still struggle to get energized for the warm weather, having been in human “hibernation” through winter.

“Humans cannot actually hibernate, but in the coldest months of the year, many of us are drawn to something similar,” writes Katherine May in Wintering: How I Learned to Flourish When Life Became Frozen. “We want to batten down the hatches, preserve our energies, lay on fat.”

Now, it’s time to shake off that hibernation and meet the sunniest months of the year head-on. You can shed that winter weight, tackle long-overdue warm-weather projects and reinvent your outlook for the rest of the year. Here are a few ways:

Move your body. You don’t have to start training for a triathlon, but any activity that gets your blood circulating will help you snap of the winter doldrums. Get off the couch and commit to move every day, even if it’s just a short walk.

“Moderate exercise will release endorphins that encourage you to move a little more next time,” says Optimi. “If you can be outside when the sun’s shining, all the better. Sunlight provides a variety of health benefits you don’t want to miss, including creating your own supply of immune-building vitamin D.”

#Declutter and #organize. Not only can #decluttering get you moving, it can also lighten the psychological load of a crowded, chaotic space. Simply having less #stuff to gather dust will make it easier to find the things you do like and streamline your home life.

Contact ClothingDonations.org for a #free #donation #pickup, and that extra #junk will be out of your life for good. Your mood will brighten knowing that #donating lightly used goods helps fund programs benefiting the nation’s #veterans.

Deep-clean. They don’t call it spring #cleaning for nothing. Shake out the rugs, wash the windows and scrub the baseboards. A #clean, fresh-smelling and bright home is a more pleasant place to be; it will put the spring in your step and may even inspire you to let some fresh air in.

Whatever gets you moving, socializing and planning again after a long winter is fair game. Just know that you no longer have to bundle up, huddle on the couch and binge Netflix. Spring has sprung, so go out and take advantage of it!