The arrival of the new season is an ideal opportunity to reassess everything from your diet and exercise habits to skincare and sleep.
The winter months might have felt like a washout, with whatever health and fitness goals you set for yourself falling into a pothole puddle. But with the turn in the weather and the extra hours of daylight, you might already have noticed a new lightness in your stride and a new fizz of energy.
The arrival of spring feels like the new start we have all been waiting for – a chance to embrace new challenges and projects. And while you might be tempted to put all that zest into cleaning the house, looking after yourself might be a more sensible first step.
As we rise to the season’s sense of optimism, here’s how to take a fresh look at your health and wellbeing.
Eat with the season
Looking closer to home for seasonal vegetables has myriad benefits, not least to your health.
“Eating with the season often means we are eating food grown locally, which should not spend as long in transit as food that is imported,” says Dr Gill Jenkins, a GP who works with advisory body the Health and Food Supplements Information Service. “Seasonal vegetables tend to be fresher and don’t tend to have such a long time in transportation and storage to lose their vitamins and minerals.”
Many people are short of these essential nutrients. A report for HSIS showed a significant lack of folate, calcium, vitamin D, iron, selenium, iodine and omega-3 fatty acids in the UK population.
At this time of year Dr Jenkins recommends eating early asparagus and leeks, which contain folate and iron; celeriac, parsnips and purple sprouting broccoli for vitamin K and potassium; chard for magnesium and iron; kale for folate and vitamins C and K; lettuce and other salad leaves, which also contain vitamins K and C; and radishes, spinach, spring greens and spring onions for folate.
You can get more benefit from your leafy greens by pairing them with healthy fats, says nutritionist Hillary Cannon, founder of boutique fitness studio BarreFly London.
“Vitamin A and K are fat-soluble vitamins, meaning that they need to be paired with healthy fats to be best absorbed by the body,” she says. “So a little drizzle of olive oil, a shave of parmesan cheese, and/or a quick dip in lemon butter – my favourite way to eat an artichoke – only make these more beneficial to us. That is what I call a win-win.”
Berry season is also looming. “Strawberries are very high in vitamin C, which we need to help support our immune system,” says nutritionist Rhiannon Lambert. “An 80g portion can give you 114 per cent of your daily recommended intake of vitamin C.
“They also contain lots of fibre, which we know can support our gut health, as well as plant compounds such as anthocyanins, which are a powerful antioxidant. Strawberries may also have benefits for our dental health too, as they contain malic acid, which is said to help reduce staining on the teeth.”
Sleep in rhythm with the day
Longer days and more sunshine can be beneficial for our health, not only from a sunlight perspective, but also by encouraging us to spend more time outside, do more exercise, and eat lighter, fresher foods – all of which have an impact on our circadian rhythm. They can, however, wreak havoc with our sleep by tricking us into thinking we should stay awake for longer or wake us up earlier.
“Light is the main driver of our sleep cycle,” says Livvy Probert co-founder of corporate wellness service HAWQ.
“More daylight equals less time when our body is telling us to be sleepy. It also increases the temperature; anyone sleeping in last year’s heatwave will know how difficult it is to sleep when it’s over 30 degrees.”
Despite the temptation to stay up and enjoy the evenings in spring, followed by a 6am sunlight wake-up-call, there are plenty of ways to set ourselves up for a good night of sleep. Probert recommends using a lighter duvet, keeping the window open (“noise dependent – if it’s not light waking us up, we don’t want it to be cars beeping”) or using a cooling fan as good places to start.
If you haven’t already, invest in blackout blinds or a sleep mask. “Once you’re in bed, you want the room to be as dark as possible so your body knows it is time to sleep. When you wake up in the morning, you want the opposite, so throw open the curtains,” she says.
Give your bedroom a little spring clean to make sure it’s comfortable and relaxing. “Cluttered floors, an uninviting bed and the work laptop are not making us think ‘sleep’.”
While everyone strives for the golden eight hours, recognise that it is not always possible. “It’s good to strive for optimising your sleep, but it’s also important not to stress about not sleeping enough,” says Probert. “Waking up in the middle of the night is hard enough, let alone tossing and turning, worrying about the alarm going off in three hours. If you do wake up in the night, make sure your sleep environment is still cool, dark, quiet and relaxing. Try reading under a gentle light or focusing on a few minutes of breathwork to help you feel sleepy again.”
Slip into new skin
After a winter of tilting from central heating to cold winds, your face might be in need of some TLC.
Spring is a good time to deep cleanse to remove dead skin cells and unblock pores.
“Not only will this help boost a glowing complexion, it will also boost the efficiency of your skincare products giving your skin a more even texture and tone,” says Julia Vearncombe, co-founder of the skincare brand Skin:Genius.
“Spring clean your make-up brushes too, to ensure even coverage and prevent breakouts caused by dirt or bacteria that may have collected.”
Getting outdoors literally gives your skin a breath of fresh air.
“Vitamin D from the spring sunshine can also help with the appearance of skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema and acne by helping to protect the skin and aid with skin cell regeneration,” she says.
After what feels like months of greylight, it can be easy to go giddy at the first sight of sun, so sunscreen is a must – even though, if applied properly, it reduces vitamin D production substantially.
“Skin exposure to sunlight is a key source of vitamin D but sunburn and skin cancer is a real risk,” says women’s health expert Dr Catherine Hood, from Japanese skincare specialists Hada Labo Tokyo. “Nine out of 10 women underestimate the strength of the UK sunshine with four out of five suffering a bout of sunburn as a result.”
Jump-start your fitness
After several months of winter, it can be hard to find that motivation to get moving, especially considering that only a month ago, it would have been dark by 6pm. But enjoying regular exercise and getting moving is one of the best ways of reducing stress levels, improving sleep and boosting your immune system.
“Exercise also helps produce the chemical adenosine, which promotes sleepiness and enables melatonin to work more effectively,” says Dr Nerina Ramlakhan, a physiologist, sleep expert and author.
Changes in the weather can affect joints, bringing pain and stiffness. However, feeling creaky isn’t a reason not to exercise – quite the reverse.
“Lots of people as they age do use joint pain as a reason or an excuse not to train, but this is mostly down to lack of exercise and inactivity,” says celebrity trainer Monique Eastwood, founder of Eastwood Movement Method.
Bones and muscles go through hormonal changes as we age and this can also effect our joints, but exercising can help keep these strong and reduce age-related stiffness and pain.
“When moving the body through different movement patterns in exercises we are working at strengthening the muscles that surround the joints and helping lubricate the joint area with synovial fluid,” says Eastwood. “Exercise keeps our bones and muscles stronger and therefore will help protect our joints and keep them healthy as we age.
“The key is to find the right type of exercise to get moving again. What you choose depends on your personality, says Dr Ramlakhan: “While some might opt for the community feel of a gym and group classes, others might prefer solitary exercise such as running. There’s no one size fits all.”
Ask yourself why you want to exercise, how you want to feel, and whether you want to exercise to meet other people or to let off steam and process your thoughts and feelings at the end of a stressful day. “Self-awareness is key,” she says.
Setting achievable goals can help you to develop long-term habits. “As a starting point, aiming for at least 10,000 steps a day can be a good way to get a fitness habit going,” says Ramlakhan. “Another good practice is to exercise first thing in the morning even for just 10 minutes.”
The important thing is to get moving and to plan the day before what you are going to do the next day.
“Make it fun and achievable,” she suggests. “Telling yourself you’re going to go out for a one-hour run is likely to present too much of a challenge, so set small but realistic goals and do enough but not too much, so that you want to come back the next day and do more.”
Sean Johnson, a regional fitness manager at Orangetheory Fitness, writes his exercise plan every Sunday. It includes the days he plans to work out, plus rest days.
“This helps keep you accountable and allows you to plan your week with all the busy spring/summer activities you have coming up,” he says.
It is also worth planning times during the day or week that you will be active. “This is not ‘exercise’ nor is it rest: this will include habits such as taking the stairs at work instead of the lift and walking to the shops to get your pint of milk instead of hopping in the car for the two-minute drive,” says Johnson.
This adds to your non-exercise activity thermogenesis or NEAT – the calories burned by the movements we make when we go about our daily business. “This is a great way to gradually start incorporating more movement into your routine after an inactive winter.”
Reboot your mood and mind
If you started off in January telling yourself this would be the year you did X, Y and finally Z, only to be in shock that it’s September and you might find yourself feeling a little deflated and wondering what your motivation is. Now is the perfect time to shed all the mental baggage of the past few months and spring into life.
“Start by spending more time in nature and limiting the time you spend on your phone, as it can bombard your brain with too many irrelevant thoughts,” says pharmacist Sultan Dajani, who works with CBD producer Dragonfly CBD. “Above all, get enough restful sleep. Decluttering your mind is an essential prerequisite for sleep.”
Mood is closely driven by our environment.
“Be sure that most days you spend a little bit of time both working towards a future goal and connecting with other people,” says psychotherapist Jordan Vyas-Lee, co-founder of private mental health clinic Kove. “These are two really important types of activity for improved mood.”
If you are still struggling to break through all the mental noise, then you might want to dive a bit deeper. Do some mood logging as a starting point.
“Noticing moods and triggers is a really vital step,” says Vyas-Lee. “Keep track of your mood and stress across a week’s period and notice the cues and triggers that make you feel better or worse. Pick up on any patterns, such as time of day, people, places, work or education assignments that do and do not help your mood.
“Becoming aware of patterns can be a really helpful first step towards you taking important action that follows.”
A wider sense of purpose can be hard to focus on when the mind is cluttered. “Our brains constantly churn out thoughts. That’s their job,” says Alan Lucas, author of Realise Your Power: 7 Steps to Sort Yourself Out.
“To know which ones are helpful you need clear goals. Write yours down to act like a magnet attracting thoughts that are useful and filtering out those that aren’t.
“Decide to take charge. Realise your brain is a tool designed to work for you, but you have to direct it. Know what you want and where you’re heading for the rest of this year and beyond. Visualise yourself achieving your goals. Be thankful that your brain can do so much thinking, but help it be more efficient and effective with clear goals and direction.”
Nip allergies in the bud
If you have ever suffered from hay fever, then you know that spring can easily feel as suffocating as winter, forcing you indoors.
Dr Jenna Macciochi, author of Your Blueprint for Strong Immunity, recommends starting hay fever medication ahead of the season.
“This prevents the symptom-causing histamine from acting before you come into contact with lots of pollen. Try antihistamine eye drops and nasal spray for local relief without having to take oral antihistamines, which can have systemic effects.”
Avoidance is the first line of defence. “Check pollen counts and plan trips accordingly, wear wraparound sunglasses, shower after coming indoors and keep windows shut.”
In terms of diet and lifestyle, Macciochi recommends quercetin supplements, nettle tea, and omega 3. She says:
“There is no evidence for eating honey [as a treatment] as this only contains tiny amounts of pollen from flowering plants, not the trees, grasses and weeds that cause hay fever.”
Replenish your immunity
If you have been plagued by every cough and cold for months then you might be feeling a little depleted.
“If your immune system has been severely compromised over the winter, you may want to kick-start its recovery by having an intramuscular injection of vitamin D, B12 or vitamin C,” says Dr Joshua Berkowitz, medical director at vitamin therapy clinic IV Boost UK. “It literally takes a minute to administer and can take effect quickly.”
If you choose this option, make sure that you seek out a reputable, highly trained medical practitioner –and remember, it’s a kick-start not a long-term solution: the latter lies in “eating a good diet, getting eight hours’ sleep each night and keeping stress levels low”, says Berkowitz.
Although it is useful to think of the immune system as a germ-fighting army that sometimes needs boosting, Macciochi believes it is a limiting analogy and ignores the many other functions of the immune system. “Fighting an infection is very resource-intensive for the immune system, it requires lots from our energy and nutrient stores,” she says.
“If you have had constant sickness all winter, then your immune system might benefit from a minimally processed, plant-rich diet pattern – for example, something like a Mediterranean diet. We also need to avoid nutrient deficiencies, but without empirically testing it’s not possible to give a one-size-fits-all supplement suggestion.”
Vitamins are the fundamental building blocks of a strong immune system, with the most important ones found in everyday foods.
It is likely at the end of winter that many of us are deficient in vitamin D, which is best produced by your skin through natural sunshine. “People used to take cod liver oil in capsules or liquid form, but that seems to be less popular today,” says Berkowitz. “Other food sources are oily fish such as mackerel and salmon and some dairy products and egg yolks.”
Vitamin C meanwhile is found in fresh fruit and vegetables, particularly oranges, blackcurrants, broccoli, red and green peppers and potatoes.
“Your body can’t store it for long, so make sure you have vitamin C-rich choices each day,” says Berkowitz. “Vitamin B12 is also key for the immune system and energy, with the best natural sources found in animal products including fish, meat, poultry, eggs and milk.
Finally you need zinc for a strong immune system. “Find it in meat, shellfish, chickpeas, lentils, beans – including baked beans – nuts and seeds, whole grains and eggs,” he adds.