Autumn/Winter Reset - Keeping bright in the darker days
- lizapatoux
- Nov 5
- 5 min read
As the days start to shorten and the weather gets colder and wetter, you might be thinking about what you can do to look after your wellbeing in the run up to winter.
If you want to keep feeling bright when there is less daylight, maintain your energy levels and boost immunity for the cold and flu season, there are a few things you can do to feel good after the clocks go back.
Why getting outside matters Quite simply, our bodies are evolved to live, move and breathe in a natural environment, yet our modern life is often keeping us indoors, hunched at desks on computers, flooding our eyes 24/7 with artificial light or the blue light of our beloved screens.
In summer, we revel in the longer lighter days and the good weather takes us outdoors, spending more time in our natural habitat.
As the days get darker, shorter and colder, there is often less motivation to get us outside – at a time of year when it’s even more important to get out and walk in natural light every day.
Supporting your body through Autumn and Winter In Autumn and Winter, we particularly need to look after our lungs and ramp up our immunity. We want to keep our circulatory and lymphatic systems flowing, taking nutrients and oxygen to fuel every cell and removing cellular waste efficiently before it builds up and stagnates, like rotting Autumn leaves, making us feel sluggish and low. The impact of shortening days with less light and longer nights starts impacting our body's natural circadian rhythms, so it's good to take some time to check in with ourselves and reflect if our daily and nightly routines are best serving us at this time of year. You can find out more about your circadian rhythms in my previous blog Resetting Our Daily Rhythms for Better Living.
Mind, movement and relaxation As well as nourishing ourselves with nutrient rich seasonal food, the connection between our mind and body will also directly impact how they respectively feel.
So taking time to look after one of those elements will have a positive impact on the other. Of course it’s even more powerful when your self-care combines the two.
Keeping our stress in check with self-care tools and resources is imperative for our mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.
When the stress hormone cortisol builds up, that has negative impacts on every part of our wellbeing, so creating time to rest and digest to engage the parasympathetic nervous system is an essential part of looking after yourself.
It’s very normal to be affected by the reduction of daylight. For some, it has a direct impact on mood, so combining mind, movement and relaxation, together with physical and mental nourishment will help us ramp up our resilience. Movement and exercise stimulates feel-good endorphins like dopamine and serotonin that lift our mood. It helps boost our immunity through the improved circulation of infection-fighting white blood cells and it increases the flow of lymph to move and let go of the body’s waste products at every level that can make us feel sluggish.
And relaxation of course allows us time to rest and recharge our energy levels when we’ve been pushing ourselves hard.
Daily self-care habits for Autumn/Winter vitality
So what small things can we integrate into our daily and weekly routines to boost our vitality this time of year?
First Thing in the Morning
Instead of reaching for the mobile phone, checking emails, social media and the news before your eyes are even open, here are some new morning routines to try.
Detoxify: Gently wake up and cleanse your digestive system with a detoxifying cup of hot water with lemon and ginger. It will get your systems going and detoxify the liver.
Clear the Mind: Allow yourself a few minutes to sit in silence, without stimulation so you can quieten the mind. You might already have a meditation practice, or you can listen to one of the audio recordings in my free 7 Day Autumn/Winter Reset Guide.
Breathe: Slowing the breath has a physical effect on the chemistry in the body and will induce relaxation. Choose one of the breathing options in this guide and practice it three times daily, morning, afternoon and evening.
Lunchtime Reset
Make it a non-negotiable part of your daily routine that you will leave your work desk and get outdoors for a 10–20 minute walk.
Even if you think you’re not in the mood, you’ll feel better for doing it.
Nutrition
Nourishing your body is key and supporting your gut health is huge part of that. This nutritionist-created guide from Emma Sayers Nutrition breaks down everything you need to know about your microbiome and how small, practical changes can improve your digestion, energy, mood, and overall wellbeing.
There are 10 easy-to-follow tips and delicious, gut-friendly recipes to fast track you to feeling your best.
Hydration
Remember to keep hydrated, drinking plenty of still water and herbal teas. As well as allowing the cells to function at their optimal level, it helps flush out toxins and waste that could make you feel sluggish.
Evening Self-Care Rituals
Create your own self-care rituals which you associate with relaxation. For example, lighting a beautiful scented candle and gazing at the flame on darker nights is a great way to keep the light shining in your mind, and a traditional meditation technique.
The Sunshine Vitamin: Vitamin D
This time of year, we aren’t exposed to enough sunlight for our bodies to naturally synthesise Vitamin D from the Sun. As well as bone growth, Vitamin D is essential for our immune system, helping defend against respiratory infections and can help regulate our mood.
You can read more about the Sunshine Vitamin in my blog, and if you aren’t already doing so, now is the time to start taking a daily Vitamin D supplement if you live in the UK. Public Health England advises everyone over 4 years old to take a daily 10μg supplement from October to March.
Nourish yourself, rest and shine as the days shorten Autumn invites us to slow down and realign with nature, to rediscover our natural rhythms. The shorter days offer a chance to reflect on what we most need right now, so we can reset our self-care with intention. It’s about becoming more mindful in how we move through the season, allowing time to rest, restore, and tune in to what our bodies truly need.
We’re all different and part of this season’s work is noticing what supports you most. Whether it’s deep rest and nourishment or time outdoors in the elements, choose what helps you feel grounded and well. When you make that choice consistently, even in small ways, you strengthen your resilience and carry your own light through the darker months.
Your free 7-day Autumn Reset and Winter Wellness
If you’d like a little extra support to put these ideas into practice, download my free 7-Day Autumn/Winter Reset Guide: “Keeping Bright in the Darker Days.” It’s a practical companion with tools and resources, including guided mindfulness and relaxation audios, with self-reflection and planning templates to help you create your own week of wellbeing. Build a plan with small daily actions to restore your energy, support your immunity, and feel more balanced as we move into winter.
Author: Liza Patoux, Wellbeing Consultant - Elizian Days offers personalised health and workplace wellbeing strategies, to professionals managing stress or health challenges affecting their work-life balance. If you would like to speak to someone about your own personal wellbeing and self-care plan, please email Liza@ElizianDays.com to arrange a confidential call.
