Fall Into Wellness: 7 Tips for a Healthy Autumn

Shorter days, cooler temperatures, and colorful leaves make fall a good time to reassess your health and wellness habits. Fall is a great time to get yourself ready for a healthy holiday season! Our top 7 healthy tips for staying active and well this fall:

Step Outside

Healthy Tips for Fall – Step Outside!

There’s no shortage of benefits when it comes to getting outdoors and breathing in some fresh air. As the temperature starts dropping, this is the perfect time to do some hiking or spend time outside moving your body — especially in the age of social distancing, self-quarantining, and stay-at-home orders. Among its many benefits, being outdoors can:

Help clear your lungs
Boost your immunity
Improve your concentration
Lower anxiety and improve your mood
Help increase your vitamin D levels

Lean Into Vitamin C

Vitamin-C Rich Foods

There’s a reason vitamin C is the queen of all vitamins; without it, your body couldn’t grow and repair tissues, your immune system wouldn’t be strong enough to fight disease, and your lymphatic system would have a hard time removing harmful substances like free radicals that can ultimately lead to cellular damage.

This fall, make sure you and your family are consuming adequate amounts of vitamin C by incorporating in-season Vitamin-C rich foods like bell peppers, which contain nearly three times more vitamin C than oranges and citrus fruits. Broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and kiwifruit are also in-season during the fall and are fantastic sources of vitamin C and other essential nutrients.

Level Up Your Sleep Game

Quality Sleep

While it’s said that daylight savings (DST) robs us of an hour of sleep during the spring and gives it back in the fall, very few of us actually get to sleep that extra hour. As the sun goes down earlier, it can throw off your sleep-wake cycle; early risers typically end up waking up even earlier than usual, and short sleepers might have more trouble falling asleep and wake up more often during the night.

Fight the effects of DST by practicing good sleep hygiene, including going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, optimizing your sleep environment, and taking a sleeping supplement with melatonin and other natural sleep aides, when necessary, to help your body return to healthy and natural sleep patterns.

Everything in Moderation

Moderation!

Between Halloween candy, game day, and Thanksgiving dinner, fall’s probably the tastiest and most indulgent season of the year. And let’s get one thing straight: there’s nothing wrong with eating so-called “unhealthy” foods from time to time, especially when that means eating a mini chocolate bar (or ten) the day after Halloween.

Research shows that people who eat intuitively are healthier and happier than folks who count calories or stick to restrictive diets. The key is to listen to your body and pay close attention to your internal eating cues (aka eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are full). And also to make peace with food, because even though some foods are certainly healthier than others, obsessing over what you “should” and “shouldn’t” eat usually ends up in instances of overeating and guilt.

So go ahead, enjoy all the delicious food fall has to offer; load up on all the delicious seasonal fruits and veggies, but also allow yourself to enjoy the not-so-healthy meals and snacks that make eating such a fun and satisfying experience.

Recharge With Loved Ones

Enjoy Time with Family and Friends

Fall is a great time to slow down. Relieve stress by getting together with your loved ones, and reaching out to people you may not have heard from in a while. Studies show that being social can:

Lighten your mood
Lower your risk of dementia
Sharpen your memory
Improve cognitive skills
Help you live longer

Give Your Immune System a Natural Boost

Give Your Immune System a Boost

A strong immune system is always important, but more so during the colder months, which are associated with an increase in viral infections like the flu and the common cold. And while there’s no magic recipe to guarantee a sick-free autumn, a few simple lifestyle modifications can help keep your immune system strong:

Eat your fruits and veggies
Exercise regularly
Don’t smoke
Drink alcohol in moderation
Try to keep stress to a minimum
Consider taking a combination immune support supplement
Stay up to date with all your recommended vaccinations, including the COVID-19 vaccine and the flu shot

Embrace In-Season Foods

Fall Foods – Eat In-Season Produce

Seasonal foods not only taste better, they are also better for the environment, cheaper, and help support your local economy. Here’s a list of produce you should be buying in the fall months for optimal freshness and greatest value: