10 Simple Ways to Stay Well in Winter

When winter arrives, it’s easy to find ourselves running low on energy, battling colds, or losing motivation to get outside. Between darker mornings, colder air, and the never-ending sniffles brought home by our children, it can feel like our usual rhythm slips away.

But winter doesn’t have to mean burnout, exhaustion, or hiding from the cold. In fact, it can be a deeply restorative time, a chance to slow down, strengthen your body, and nourish yourself from the inside out.

Here are 10 simple ways to stay well this winter, inspired by the practices we love at Scenic Sauna.

1. Get HOT!

When you step into a sauna, your body enters a powerful state of restoration and adaptation. The heat gently raises your skin and core temperature, activating the body’s built-in thermoregulatory system, the same one that helps you stay balanced when faced with stress or temperature changes. This process triggers a cascade of beneficial physiological responses:

Cardiovascular Health: Short-term heat exposure activates the autonomic nervous system, increasing heart rate, blood flow, and sweating, similar to light exercise. Regular sauna use has been linked to improved heart health and lower blood pressure. Up to 63% lower risk of cardiac death and 40% lower all-cause mortality for those who sauna 4–7 times per week. (Study: Finnish men, 2018)

Metabolic Balance: Sauna sessions can improve insulin sensitivity, supporting stable blood sugar and energy levels. Just three 30-minute sauna sessions a week for 12 weeks has been shown to reduce insulin and blood sugar by over 30%, helping the body process glucose more effectively.

Hormonal & Cellular Repair: Heat exposure stimulates heat shock proteins (HSPs), powerful molecules that protect and repair cells. It also naturally boosts growth hormone, which helps prevent muscle breakdown and supports recovery. In some studies, growth hormone increased 2–16x following sauna sessions, depending on temperature and duration.

Brain & Immune Health: Regular sauna bathing strengthens the immune system by increasing white blood cell count and stimulating the lymphatic system to flush out toxins. It’s also associated with a lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, likely due to improved blood flow and reduced inflammation.

2. Drink Warm Drinks (and More of Them!)

When temperatures drop, our bodies work harder to maintain homeostasis, a stable internal temperature. Cold air, indoor heating, and dry environments all affect hydration and circulation, often leading to mild dehydration without us even realising it.

Here’s what’s happening physiologically, and why warm drinks help:

Thermoregulation Support: Warm fluids gently raise core body temperature, signalling the hypothalamus (the brain’s temperature control centre) to widen blood vessels, improving circulation and helping distribute warmth throughout the body.

Hydration Maintenance: In winter, we often feel less thirsty, but our bodies lose moisture through respiration and heating systems that dry the air. Warm drinks encourage regular sipping and help maintain fluid balance, supporting cellular function and immunity.

Digestive and Nervous System Benefits: Warm liquids stimulate vagal tone; the calming branch of the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting digestion and relaxation. Herbal teas with ingredients like ginger, chamomile, or mint further support gut health and reduce inflammation.

Respiratory & Mucosal Protection: Steam and warmth soothe the throat and thin mucus secretions, improving airway function and supporting the immune barrier in the respiratory tract; a first line of defence against winter bugs.

3. Eat the Greens

When winter arrives, our bodies naturally crave warmth, comfort, and denser foods, a perfectly normal instinct for the colder months. But while those cosy meals have their place, it’s just as important to keep plenty of fresh, green, nutrient-rich foods on your plate.

Leafy greens like kale, spinach, cavolo nero, broccoli, and hardy herbs such as parsley and thyme are nutritional powerhouses, especially in winter. They’re rich in:

Vitamin C, which supports the production of white blood cells, your body’s front-line defence against infection. It also acts as a powerful antioxidant, protecting your cells from oxidative stress (the kind that increases when fighting off colds).

Folate (Vitamin B9) and Magnesium, essential for nervous system balance and mood regulation. Folate helps produce serotonin, while magnesium supports calmness and better sleep; both crucial during darker months when our natural circadian rhythms are challenged.

Vitamin K and Calcium, which work together to maintain bone strength; particularly important when we spend less time outdoors absorbing sunlight (and producing Vitamin D).

Plant compounds like lutein and beta-carotene protect brain and eye health, and chlorophyll aids detoxification by binding to and removing harmful compounds from the body.

The phytonutrients and antioxidants found in dark leafy greens also help reduce systemic inflammation, which can rise during colder months due to stress, lower physical activity, and less exposure to daylight.

4. Top Up on Vitamin D (and K2)

With shorter days, less sunlight, and more time spent indoors, Vitamin D becomes one of the most important nutrients for staying well through winter. It’s sometimes called the “sunshine vitamin” because our bodies make it when skin is exposed to UVB rays. But between grey skies and thick jumpers, many of us don’t get enough, especially from October to April in the UK.

Vitamin D plays a vital role in:

Immune function: helping your body recognise and respond to viruses and bacteria.

Mood regulation: supporting serotonin production and helping reduce symptoms of seasonal low mood.

Energy and metabolism: influencing how efficiently your muscles and cells produce energy.

Even a short burst of sunlight each day (around 10–20 minutes) helps top up your stores, but it’s often not enough during winter. This is why the NHS recommends considering a daily supplement.

If you do, look for one that includes Vitamin K2; the two work in synergy.

Here’s why that matters:

• Vitamin D increases calcium absorption from your diet; a good thing for bones and teeth.

• But without Vitamin K2, that calcium can be deposited in the wrong places such as your arteries, kidneys, or soft tissues, where it can cause problems over time.

• Vitamin K2 acts like a guide, directing calcium into your bones (where you want it) and away from your arteries (where you don’t).

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Together, Vitamins D + K2 help strengthen your bones, support your heart, and maintain overall metabolic balance, especially important during the darker, slower months of the year.

5. Move Gently, and Consistently

When winter arrives, our instinct is often to slow down, and that’s perfectly natural. But staying completely still can leave the body feeling sluggish and low in energy. Even light physical activity, like yoga, stretching, or walking, triggers powerful biological responses that help counteract the effects of colder, darker months. Here are just a few ways keeping moving during winter is beneficial...

Joint & Muscle Health: When we’re sedentary, synovial fluid (the natural lubricant for joints) becomes more viscous and circulation to connective tissues slows. Gentle movement keeps joints mobile, reduces stiffness, and maintains muscle elasticity, protecting against aches and pains caused by inactivity or cold tension.

Immune & Metabolic Benefits: Regular moderate exercise enhances immune surveillance, increasing the activity of white blood cells and natural killer cells that defend against viruses. It also supports metabolic flexibility; your body’s ability to switch efficiently between burning carbohydrates and fat for energy, which helps stabilise blood sugar and maintain energy through the day.

The Nervous System Reset: Slow, mindful movement (like yoga or stretching) activates the parasympathetic nervous system, the “rest and digest” state. This promotes recovery, lowers heart rate and blood pressure, and improves overall resilience to stress.

6. Rest Deeply

Winter is nature’s season of rest, a time when everything slows, conserves energy, and restores from within. Just as the trees shed their leaves to direct energy to their roots, we too are meant to retreat, reflect, and renew.

In our always-on world, rest is often mistaken for laziness, but in truth, recovery is one of the most biologically productive states we can enter.

When you slow down, your body moves from sympathetic mode (the “fight or flight” state that keeps us alert and rushing) into parasympathetic mode (the “rest and digest” system). This shift, regulated by the vagus nerve, lowers heart rate and blood pressure, deepens breathing, improves digestion, and supports immune repair.

The Science of Rest: Deep rest activates the brain’s glymphatic system (a relatively new discovery), a self-cleaning mechanism that clears out metabolic waste and supports cognitive clarity. This process primarily happens during sleep, maki

ng those early nights and screen-free evenings more than just a luxury, they’re a neurological reset.

Hormonal Balance: Consistent rest also regulates cortisol (your stress hormone) and boosts melatonin (your sleep hormone), both essential for mood stability, immune strength, and cellular recovery. When we override our natural need for rest, these rhythms become disrupted, leading to fatigue, anxiety, and weakened immunity.

Reclaiming Cyclical Living: The constant “hamster wheel” pace of modern life ignores what our bodies have always known: we are cyclical, seasonal beings. Just as the natural world ebbs and flows, so do we. Winter invites us to reconnect with that truth, to step away from constant productivity and allow ourselves to rest without guilt.

7. Connect with Others: The Science of Human Connection

When winter draws us indoors, it’s easy to slip into isolation, yet connection is one of the most vital ingredients for true wellbeing. Human warmth doesn’t just feel good; it creates measurable physiological changes that strengthen the body and mind.

Oxytocin; The Connection Hormone: When we spend time with people we enjoy, whether that’s sharing a sauna, joining a yoga class, or simply sitting together over tea, our bodies release oxytocin, sometimes called the “bonding hormone.” Oxytocin lowers cortisol (the stress hormone), reduces blood pressure, and calms the nervous system. It helps regulate emotional responses, enhances empathy, and supports feelings of safety and belonging, all crucial for mental health.

Social Connection & Longevity: Large-scale studies, including work by Harvard University and Stanford’s “Science of Well-Being” researchers, have shown that strong social ties are one of the greatest predictors of long life and good health; even more so than diet or exercise. Loneliness, on the other hand, increases inflammation, disrupts immune function, and is associated with a higher risk of heart disease and depression.

Warmth, Literally and Emotionally: Interestingly, the brain interprets social warmth and physical warmth in overlapping ways. Research from the University of Colorado found that holding a warm drink can increase feelings of interpersonal trust, and that physical warmth activates the same brain regions as emotional connection (the insula and anterior cingulate cortex). That means the warmth you feel in the sauna, surrounded by others, is not just physical comfort; it can also promote a sense of emotional safety and openness.

Connection Strengthens Immunity: Positive social contact increases the production of natural killer cells and antibodies, both vital for fighting off winter infections. It also boosts vagal tone, enhancing parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) balance, the state in which the body heals best.

8. Breathe Fresh Air - Get Outside in the Morning!

Even when the air feels sharp and cold, stepping outside, or simply opening a window, can have a profound effect on your body and mind. Fresh air oxygenates the blood, awakens the senses, and stimulates the systems that keep you feeling balanced and alive.

Cold Air as a Natural Stressor: Exposing yourself to cooler temperatures, even briefly, acts as a mild hormetic stressor, much like an ice bath. It challenges your body in small, beneficial ways, triggering adaptation and resilience. Cold exposure activates the sympathetic nervous system, increasing norepinephrine (a neurotransmitter that sharpens focus and lifts mood) and encouraging the release of endorphins, which promote a calm, alert state of wellbeing.

Respiratory Refresh: Outdoor air tends to have a higher oxygen concentration than indoor environments, especially in the winter when we seal up our homes. Breathing in fresh air enhances oxygen exchange in the lungs, helping deliver oxygen-rich blood to muscles and the brain, supporting energy, concentration, and cellular repair.

Immune and Circulatory Benefits: Exposure to cold air stimulates brown adipose tissue (BAT) — a special type of fat that burns energy to generate heat. This process, called thermogenesis, boosts metabolism and can improve insulin sensitivity and immune response. Meanwhile, alternating between warm and cold environments (like stepping outside after a sauna) enhances circulatory flexibility, the ability of blood vessels to expand and contract efficiently, which supports cardiovascular health.

Mental Clarity and Mood: Spending even ten minutes outside helps regulate serotonin and dopamine, improving mood and reducing symptoms of stress or low motivation. Natural light exposure also supports your circadian rhythm, helping you sleep better and maintain balanced hormone levels.

9. Find a Routine That Grounds You

Having a simple daily routine is one of the most effective ways to support your wellbeing, especially during winter, when shorter days and colder weather can disrupt your natural rhythm.

The brain thrives on predictability. When you repeat small, grounding habits; like lighting a candle, journaling, or taking three slow breaths before starting the day, you signal safety to your nervous system, reducing cortisol (the stress hormone) and helping shift from reactivity to calm focus.

Regular routines also help stabilise your circadian rhythm, the internal clock that governs sleep, energy, digestion, and mood. Consistency in when you wake, eat, and unwind supports balanced hormone production and steadier energy throughout the day.

Even small rituals; a walk at the same time each morning, a few minutes of breath-work before bed, or journaling at lunchtime, give structure to the day and help counter the mental fatigue that can come from constant change or uncertainty.

10. Nourish Yourself; Body, Mind & Spirit

True wellness is more than what you eat or how you move. It’s also how you speak to yourself, how you rest, and how you reconnect. Our sauna sessions, yoga classes, and retreat days are all designed to help you tune back into what your body truly needs.

Stay Well with Scenic Sauna

This winter, give yourself permission to slow down, to warm up, and to look after yourself deeply. Explore our events and wellbeing experiences, from Full Moon Gatherings to nourishing Retreat Days.