THE EDIT: Step into spring
It’s officially spring! And after the gloom of winter, this season is one of my favourite times of year. Spring has such an optimism to it – the days are longer, the air is fresher, the daffodils are out and everyone’s mood is brighter. It’s a season of new beginnings and rejuvenation. So with our energy levels starting to soar once more, here are my top tips to embrace this season for change and put a spring back in your step.
Essential Outdoors
After a cold and wet winter, the milder spring temperature means being outside again, and it’s the perfect time to get back into regular outdoor exercise. Nothing beats the distinct fresh spring air to clear your head and enjoy the beauty of nature as it re-emerges around us. As well as increasing our essential vitamin D levels, exposure to sunlight also helps release the happiness hormone serotonin, instantly lifting our spirits. For me, walking has to be one of the best mood enhancers I know – and it’s so accessible to all of us as one of the easiest and cheapest ways to keep fit!
Spring Nutrition
Our bodies have a way of telling us exactly what we need as each season comes along, and as we move into spring we naturally crave lighter and fresher foods that cleanse and nourish the body. Everything that’s in season now – citrus fruits packed with immune-boosting vitamin C, crisp salads and new seasonal greens – all contain the antioxidants and vitamins that nurture our bodies and increase our energy levels. This is the time to get rid of unhealthy eating habits that have built up over the winter – AND it means getting ourselves back into shape for the summer!
New Opportunities
Spring symbolises new beginnings and opportunities. It’s a time for motivation and positive change – out with the old and in with the new – and often it’s the little changes we make that have the greatest impact on our wellbeing, boosting our energy and confidence to do more. It can be anything, from studying a new language, taking up yoga, decluttering the home, to more significant aspirations like moving house or changing jobs. Simply taking on something new creates a platform for success and in turn elevates our self-esteem.
Holiday Plans
There’s something about spring and finally emerging from a seemingly endless winter that has many of us trawling through holiday websites looking for our perfect destination. Just knowing we’ve got something to look forward to keeps us sane, and studies show that planning and anticipating a trip can often make us happier than actually taking it! We have the prospect of tropical sunshine, cruising down a river or exploring a new city ahead of us. This is the best time of year to sit down and start planning that trip, because half of the joy of travel is in the anticipation.
Wardrobe Colour
Embracing a colourful look for the new season is liberating. It’s easy to hold on to the greys and blacks, over-sized knits and endless layers that accompany the winter months, but with spring in the air, this is the time to take stock of your wardrobe and start adding a splash of colour. Research shows that colours have a significant effect on our mood and the way other people respond to us. So this is the time of year to bring out brighter shades – vivid greens, yellows and blues that represent spring – and introduce a bit of colour therapy into the new season.
