Staying physically and mentally healthy amid winter weather conditions
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Snow, ice, and cold temperatures are a part of the average Michiana day. Wintry conditions can lead to a plethora of difficulties, whether it's frozen pipes, tough road conditions, or even power outages.
Cold weather can also be a challenge when it comes to staying mentally and physically active this time of year.
Some may even be dealing with seasonal depression right now.
Shauntel Marcin, FNP-C, is a family nurse practitioner with Saint Joseph Behavioral Health. She says seasonal depression typically starts in October and lasts throughout the winter months.
“So typically, in the office setting, we typically start to see patients' kind of bump in, like that late October, when that shift in the weather starts to happen, when it's colder, when we're not seeing as much daytime sunlight hours, when people are starting to say, ‘I'm just not feeling super motivated. I feel like I want to sleep all the time. I want to eat all the time. I don't really want to go out and do things.’ And then certainly, the challenges with the weather have made it so that it's almost impossible to leave your home—this year anyway,” said Marcin.
Marcin says seasonal depression is pretty pervasive in our area and adds that this winter has been especially challenging.
“I think it's always super important to have, like, distracting or enjoyable activities to do, I think making your home space comfortable in a place where you have things that you can do within the home that keep your body stimulated, keep your mind stimulated, and keep you kind of like actively engaged with others,” said Marcin.
She says during the wintertime, make sure your diet is well-maintained, you’re doing some sort of physical activity, and you have an activity you enjoy-- that can keep your brain stimulated.
“Reading is a great hobby. You know, some people like to do arts and crafts, and I think also making it like a family environment as well, if you have children at home or other people in the house, finding activities you can do to bring that togetherness, because that will also make you feel better, and it gets everybody actively involved,” said Marcin.
As Marcin explains, physical health is closely tied to mental health.
“I think that physical health part of things and the movement part of things is hugely tied into the mental health part. But I think sometimes we see them as separate entities, but I think that physical health is ultimately the best way to get to a good place of mental health,” said Marcin.
Marcin also says diet is important during this time, making sure you’re getting plenty of protein and limiting things like sugar to give you more energy and help you feel better.
When it comes to physical health, that activity you enjoy doing most in fall, spring, or summer may not be accessible when it’s below freezing or snowing.
Jenn Davis is the Community Outreach Manager at Fleet Feet Mishawaka, and she knows how winter weather can complicate things for runners.
That’s why they have paid training programs to help keep people motivated, plus a free "Pub Run" that happens every week, year-round, where people can meet up every Wednesday night to run and spend time together.
“It gives the public something to look forward to. It gives our runners something to look forward to. It keeps them motivated. They have the same group of friends that maybe show up week after week. It's just something that they can count on,” said Davis.
This time of year, they meet at Taphouse On The Edge and run Notre Dame’s campus since Davis says it’s usually pretty clear.
“If the temperature gets below zero, real feel, we will cancel and encourage people to run inside, whether they're running on their own treadmill or they're going to a local gym and running on a treadmill there. Or sometimes the gyms will have open indoor tracks during open-to-the-public times. Sometimes those times aren't super convenient, so you'll have to check your local gym for those indoor track options,” said Davis.
She says running is a little bit different in the winter.
“Running is a little bit different in the winter. You do want to change your form. You want to shorten your stride. You want to watch out for those icy areas. We do have spikes and different apparatuses that you can put on the bottom of your shoes to help grip into the snow a little bit better. I know some runners will use trail shoes to give a little bit of grip. Anything that can help keep you moving. I know there's the whole perma cloud, there's a little bit of sunshine coming through, but just getting outside and getting some fresh air will do you wonders,” said Davis.
As far as winter family fun goes, Jeff Jarnecke with Visit South Bend Mishawaka shares ideas for indoor activities during times when outdoor activities like ice skating, tubing, or cross-country skiing may be out of the question.
He says there is no shortage of Museums to visit, whether it’s the Indiana Dinosaur Museum, Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, or Studebaker National Museum.
Additionally, you can go watch sporting events, some for free, at Notre Dame.
“The vast majority of the varsity sports at Notre Dame are free of charge, so you could go and check out Indoor Lacrosse or track and field, or see some of the other varsity-level competition that's taking place. And that's in addition to all the incredible restaurants that we have in St. Joseph County, those sorts of things like Strikes and Spares and Chippewa Bowl and Generations AdventurePlex, and so many just terrific things to blow off some steam without having to worry about the elements,” said Jarnecke.
Find more events happening in the South Bend-Mishawaka area here.