I’ll be straight with you – I don’t like winter. The cold, grey weather just doesn’t spin my wheels and when late January rolls around, I start to feel the blues with so much wet stuff around. Winter is not romantic; it comes with rain, snow, dry air, and sickness which make it really, really annoying for me. But I do love being an office worker in winter. At Bayt.com, we get all the cheerfulness (and warmth) we need. Here, you can help yourself to tea, coffee, fruits, and vegetables. We are even treated to cupcakes and have our own Nescafé machine. (Did I mention that we won the “Great Place to Work” award for three consecutive years?) No matter how great your employer is, it can be hard to stay healthy and upbeat as the days get shorter and the weather more vicious. So here is a survival guide to winter from the team at Bayt.com:
Most of us tend to hole ourselves up in the winter, especially if you’re used to exercising outside. This means that, in order to stay fit and healthy, you should try twice as hard to stay active as you do during the summer. According to the Bayt.com ‘MENA Professionals’ Health and Eating Habits’ poll, March 2012, 17.6% of professionals in MENA claim to do no exercise, with the rest claiming to exercise frequently (37.6%) or occasionally (44.8%). What we recommend: A brisk walk, winter gardening or jogging outdoors has to be better than staying indoors from November to April. Regular exercise will also help to prevent joint and heart problems as well as obesity and diabetes. Anecdotally, many of us will vouch for the way exercise also helps to manage stress and anxiety and combat general grumpiness.
There’s no doubt our Vitamin D levels dip in winter. We need it for strong bones and a robust immune system, and deficiency has been linked to autoimmune conditions such as type 1 diabetes. Most Vitamin D comes from the sun and you can store some up by being outdoors in summer. What we recommend: Break up your day by getting outside during your lunch break. Try and work at a window and get as much natural light as possible – it’ll help you combat the feeling of being in perpetual night and give you a chance to re-energize. Eating oily fish or fortified cereals can help boost levels of Vitamin D in your body; a portion of sardines or salmon contains the recommended daily allowance of about 15 micrograms.
Winter isn’t exactly the happiest of seasons. Focus on all the positive things about winter. Make sure you take extra special care if you work from home, too, which can make winter’s depressing effects even worse. Indeed, the repetition of work and the lack of sunlight can make you feel like there’s no end in sight, often resulting in stress or depression. So, if you can’t get out and do all the things you usually do, do something out of the ordinary. What we recommend: Set a winter goal. Start reading or communicating with relatives or long-lost friends. If you’ve had a desire to write, do it now or start learning an instrument or a language or a new computer program. There are many things that you’ve been putting off, and now’s the time to get some of them done. Having a sense of accomplishment will help alleviate stress and the general malaise associated with the season.
The most obvious advice is if it’s too cold where you live, go somewhere else. So why not take a little off-season vacation? If you go somewhere warmer – even if it’s just a little warmer – you might be able to get a great deal in the off-season. What we recommend: Check out something like TripAdvisor to see where you’ll find the best winter deals on a getaway. It doesn't have to be that long, either – even a 1-week reprieve will help you relax.
Cold weather may not directly cause colds, but cold season is definitely in full swing. You don’t have to hole yourself up to avoid getting sick, you just need to take a little extra care. What we recommend: Get a good amount of sleep, wash your hands often, drink hot beverages, and take plenty of vitamin C.
Lastly, remember: heating yourself extremely important. Here are some items you might need to beat the cold at work:
