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Writer's pictureChris Weinkauff Duranso

A positive winter mindset: What?!?!



Today I am going to write about recent scientific studies that have uncovered the 'positive winter mindset' as a contributor to winter well-being. What does that mean? In short, a positive winter mindset is thinking warmly about cold weather. Let's dig into this concept...


I grew up in the Midwest. When I moved to Southern California over a decade ago, I promised myself I would never move to a snowy climate again (Side note: Be careful what you commit to. You never know what the future holds...). I never wanted to live in a place with short cold winter days and dirty snow again! I have enjoyed living in the beautiful temperate weather of Southern California, but well, times are changing, and so are my views.


Like many who live or have lived in cold weather climates, instead of enjoying the crisp and colorful settings in fall, I would dread it because I knew what was coming next....winter. Cold and windy days, dirty snow piles, shoveling the driveway and scraping the car. Days and weeks spent indoors because it was 'too cold' to do anything outdoors. When I lived in Chicago, I remember many instances where I dug my car out of a snow pile, and once where I dug out a car, only to realize it wasn't mine. There were winters in Chicago where people would dig out their car and put a piece of furniture in the parking spot, to save it while they were at work or out running errands. This is an experience I do not wish to repeat.



That is an example of the OPPOSITE of a positive winter mindset. Fortunately, before I moved to SoCal, I had the pleasure of cultivating a friendship with someone who changed the way I think about cold winter weather. I was still glad to move to SoCal, but if I ever return to a winter weather climate, I will embrace a positive winter mindset, using the practical lessons I learned from that friend (I will get to it in a minute.), and the science that supports those lessons and more.


I have spoken about the lessons learned from that friend in previous posts, but they are worth repeating as we gear up for cold weather in many parts of the world. My friend taught me that if you exercise (walking included) outdoors, your body burns more calories (keeping the body warm), your body learns to tolerate a wider range of temperatures, and if you meditate on your surroundings while you are out there, you are likely to find a new appreciation for the beauty in winter nature settings. I experienced all of these points when I took my running from the treadmill to the winter streets, in addition to the typical benefits of spending time in nature (see post on nature). I found that I was not nearly as cold during the day, after I had run outside that morning. I found the beauty in what were previously 'ugly', bare trees. I noticed the way the snow hung on the branches, or glistened in the fields. I noticed these things before I noticed the dirty snow piled along the roads or sidewalks. I noticed these things before I thought about how dark it was most of the day, or how I missed the sunshine of summer.



Those lessons I learned back then are supported by exercise and well-being research, and cultural traditions, like the Norwegian concept of friluftsliv ('open air living'). Norway is known in well-being research for being a generally happy group of people, and one big reason seems to be their love for the outdoors, regardless of the weather. I have written in a previous post about the concept of friluftsliv, the joy of being outdoors, and it is a behavior from which we may all benefit, especially given the pandemic and the 2020 shit show. Getting outdoors as much as possible, even in winter weather, can help us maintain our sense of pandemic resilience, and maintain our body's immune system as well.


Moving in general, whether you are running, playing a sport, or taking a brisk walk, strengthens the immune system and boosts our brain chemistry in ways that improve mood, sleep, concentration, and creativity, to name a few. Moving outdoors enhances those positive effects. It also helps offset some very natural bodily tendencies when experiencing fewer hours of daylight. Our body tends to prefer sedentary activities, and high fat foods when the weather turns cold and the days are dark, neither of which are great for our health or well-being. Our primitive ancestors needed those functions to stay alive, be we certainly do not. Staying active outdoors on a regular basis helps us stave off that temptation to cuddle up early, engage in sedentary activities, and eat high fat snacks or meals. Staying active outdoors serves as a heavy foot on the gas pedal in your car, but for your body. It keeps our body and all of its systems running smoothly, our mind engaged, and our emotional barometer a little higher than would otherwise be the case in the gloomy winter weather. We have energy to function at our best throughout the day, we are likely to crave healthier foods, and sleep better, too.


Some researchers have referred to the endorphin rush we get when we are moving outdoors as 'outdoorphins'. The increase in endorphins naturally experienced when exercising is to a greater degree when exercising outdoors, so the name works! Keep in mind, when I refer to exercising outdoors, I am not talking about scaling a mountain or even running for that matter. Exercise includes brisk walking. Brisk walking is defined in the health literature as walking fast enough to increase your heart rate and respiration, and exercise benefits seem to be found with just 30 minutes of brisk walking! The degree to which you increase your heart rate and respiration is up to you-just make sure it is comfortable enough to maintain for 30 minutes, and pleasurable enough to repeat regularly.


A pandemic benefit of getting outdoors regularly is that you can participate in these activities with other people, as long as you maintain appropriate distance. Masking is helpful, too, and is not nearly as difficult when walking as running or other outdoor activities might be. Outdoor activities, thus, allow you to socialize with friends or family members, reducing the winter blues you might feel when disconnected from others. We are all feeling disconnected right now, so any way we can reduce that, while abiding by CDC or WHO guidelines, is good!


Back to the positive winter mindset. How do we build this mindset? Well, one easy way to cultivate it is to get outside and begin reaping the benefits of time spent outdoors. With winter weather, it is important to dress properly, as being too cold will not only put your health at risk, but will suck the joy out of the experience, too. The good news is that, while there are all sorts of fancy and cool expensive outdoor gear you could buy, they are not necessary. Some simple tips for outdoor comfort in cold weather include: the colder the weather, the more important it is to cover all of your skin (to avoid frostbite), and layer so you can remove items if you get too warm.


One of the easiest and most reasonably affordable ways to keep your legs warm in cold weather is to layer with a pair of nylons (pantyhose) as the base layer. And avoid cotton if possible, as it may absorb your sweat but it does not dry very quickly. A moist inner layer is going to be very cold. There are many cold gear items available that are incredibly affordable, and are made with new fabric technology for quick absorption and drying, so you stay warm.


Another important consideration are footwear. Again, you can spend a lot of money if have it, but you don't need to. Just make sure your shoes have nice tread on the bottom, to keep you from slipping on snow or ice, and make sure you have plenty of room in them. You want your feet to be able to move around in your shoes, and to have some air inside the shoe to circulate the warmth from your movement. I typically buy my winter shoes a half size larger than normal, so I can wear two pairs of socks (or nylons plus socks), or a heavy pair of wool socks, and still have plenty of room for my feet and toes to move around.


If you step outside and think it is too cold/windy/snowy to stay outside, think twice. Unless the weather experts have advised against going outside because of extreme temperatures (in which case, I would urge you to listen to them), give yourself 10 minutes of movement outside before surrendering to stay indoors. If you still feel too cold after 10 minutes of movement outside, then give yourself the freedom to go back inside. You are likely to be surprised how good it will feel, as long as you stay moving.


Now that you know how to stay warm, and hopefully have been convinced to get outside, what other steps can we take to build our positive winter mindset? There are many things we can do, especially given that a positive winter mindset is not just about exercising outdoors.


A positive winter mindset includes focusing on the things we enjoy during these months, things we enjoy because of or despite the weather.


Do you have winter traditions that you look forward to every year? Many of those might not be possible this year, because of the pandemic, so we will have to be creative in our approach. We can savor our past experiences with those traditions, and savor future plans for returning to them. We can cultivate new traditions this year, or tweak old ones. While we may all be experiencing Zoom fatigue, it does help us bridge previous traditions with family or friends with alternate versions this year. Zoom holiday gatherings, Zoom games with friends, Zoom wine tastings, Zoom recitals (my grandkids just gave great piano and drum solo performances for me on FaceTime...it was awesome!).


Find new activities that you can do outdoors, safely. Sledding, snowshoeing, building snowmen or snow angels. Snow forts. Snow Christmas trees, or other holiday memorabilia. Find a local park or public area to enjoy. People watch. Bird watch. Dog watch.


If you live in a winter-y climate, I recognize that shoveling snow still sucks for most people. But focusing your thoughts on the other more pleasant realities can make your overall winter experience more livable, and quite possibly even more fun.


One more thing we can do: Appreciate the indoor activities you typically engage in during the winter months. Next week, I will focus on a Danish concept called 'hygge', which is an appreciation for slowing down. We may all be very tired of being forced to slow down. I certainly am tired of all of the things I am missing during the pandemic, but turning our thoughts to a more positive frame of mind, like positive winter mindset, or hygge, can help us get through this winter season with a bit more resilience. Hang in there.



Be well, stay safe, and take care.




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