67. From Holiday Hustle to Winter Flow: How to Boost Energy and Beat the Winter Blues

 If the dark mornings, cold weather, and post-holiday slump have you feeling tired, sluggish, or unmotivated — you’re not alone. In part two of the Winter Blues series, Jenny shares simple, practical ways to support your energy during the winter months, especially if you’re working long shifts or juggling the chaos of caregiving.

Learn why your body naturally slows down this time of year, how light and movement impact mood, and what steps you can take to shift from “holiday hustle” into a calmer, healthier winter rhythm.

This episode is full of small, doable habits that help you feel better — without adding more to your plate.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
✅ Why darker days impact your mood, energy, and motivation
✅ How light exposure (even through windows) boosts alertness
✅ Ways to create a simple winter routine that supports—not drains—you
✅ How to rest intentionally rather than collapsing into exhaustion
✅ Why connection is essential when winter makes you want to withdraw
✅ Easy ways to add gentle movement into your day

Takeaways & Action Steps:

1. Get 5–10 minutes of natural light or bright window light each morning if possible.
2. Build a simple “winter routine” you can do on autopilot on low-energy days.
3. Schedule intentional rest — cozy time counts when it’s chosen, not default.
4. Connect with one person this week: call, text, or coffee.
5. Move your body for at least 3–5 minutes a day (stretching, dancing, or walking).
6. Stuck? Book a call! https://calendly.com/jennylytlern/free

If you're feeling overwhelmed, burned out, or like there’s never enough time, I’ve got something just for you! Head to https://selfcareisntselfish.com to grab your FREE copy of my book, Self-Care Isn’t Selfish: The Compassionate Nurse’s Step-by-Step Guide to Personalized Stress Relief. It’s packed with simple, effective strategies to help you prioritize your needs—without guilt—so you can feel energized, focused, and ready to take on the day. Go to https://selfcareisntselfish.com 

Feeling stressed? Grab my quick and easy Busy Nurses' Guide to Less Stress for practical stress relief that truly fits into your life! https://www.jennylytle.com/guide

Looking for connection with people who get the stress and self-care struggles of nurses and caregivers? Check out https://thenursesbreakroom.com

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennylytlern/

More ways to connect here: https://linktr.ee/jennylytle

Chapters

• 0:58 Welcome And Series Context
• 1:37 Winter Blues And Energy Slumps
• 3:00 Light Exposure And Home Lighting
• 3:48 Routines And Intentional Rest
• 4:47 Connection And Daily Movement
• 6:36 Personalizing Self Care And Support
• 6:36 Next Week’s Focus And Closing

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:29

Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Nurses Break Room with Jenny Lytle R.N. This week we're going to continue our three-part series on beating the winter blues. And last week we talked about how to keep spirits bright through the holidays, even when life feels heavy or things don't go quite as planned. And make sure to check that out if you haven't already. It's it's less than five minutes long, but it does have some really practical tips for thinking about what do I want this season to feel like and how to handle it if maybe you're not feeling very jolly this season. So this week we're focusing more on moving from holiday hustle to winter flow and how to keep our energy up when the days get short, because that is a challenge for a lot of us, myself included. Right now, maybe we're busy trying to prep for the holidays, or we're trying to motivate ourselves to get busy to prep for the holidays. But as we move past the holidays, then the shorter days and slower pace can really start to affect our energy. Now there are emotional and physical effects of less sunlight. We can have less motivation, fatigue, sadness. It really can make a difference. It doesn't mean you're lazy. It's just your body and your brain are responding to real changes. There are some things that you can do that help boost your energy a bit, like going outside, some. Even when it's cold, if you go outside a little bit, especially early in the morning, that's something that can really help. And now early in the morning and when the sun's come up, so that's not super early for a lot of us. And the issue is for some that when we go to work, it's dark. And when we come home from work, it's dark. So we don't really have any time to be outside in the sun. And even in our cars when we're driving, we may not see the sun. So if possible, wherever you are, if you're able to get just a little bit of light exposure by sitting near windows, that can help. Having lights on that are overhead. I have read that's something when we have on overhead lights, our body kind of associates that with the sun. So this was something that I'd read regarding sleep hygiene. And when we have lamps on that are down at a lower level, that doesn't spike that same awake response in us. And so this particular thing that I had read encouraged us to turn off the overhead lights and just have lamps on when it gets later in the afternoon or evening to help our bodies wind down a little bit. Looking for energy, possibly reversing that might be beneficial. Keeping a routine, even if it's a different routine than you keep during the summer, having something that, okay, I can just do these particular things and they're things that help me feel better. And instead of trying to avoid or completely revamp things, just having something that you can do on autopilot is something that doesn't take a lot of energy. It's easier on your body. Another thing is choosing to rest, choosing to be cozy without just being exhausted and falling into bed. But choosing to rest intentionally, building that into your days and into your weeks, finding connection through check-ins with friends and family, and maybe that's going out to dinner or getting together and just having a cup of coffee and talking. Maybe it's over the phone. But making sure that we're keeping in touch with people because when we get that tired, sometimes exhausted state, then it can be easy to turn inward and doing some self-reflection, having time to yourself is not a bad thing in and of itself. But when we find ourselves pulling away from other people, then that can really start to have an impact on our energy levels and our overall levels of well-being as well. And then moving your body a bit every day. And that doesn't have to look like running a marathon or going to the gym, even. There's lots of different YouTube videos. There's different exercises that you can do. You can turn on some music and just dance around a little bit. You can do some stretching, just those things that keep your blood flowing, keep yourself flexible. And we know that those things are good for us, but fitting them in it sometimes doesn't just happen. We need to be a little bit intentional about that. And remember that increasing energy, like any type of self-care, isn't just about doing more. It's about doing what really nourishes you. And so there are things that apply to us all, but there are things that you know help you feel more energetic or less sluggish, less down. You know your ways to combat the blues. And if for some reason, maybe you think, no, I really don't. This is something I go through all the time. I really don't know what to do about that, then please reach out to me. Let's jump on a quick call and figure out a way that you can decrease some of that sadness, some of that lethargy that can come along with winter. Now, next week we are going to focus on somatic exercises that can help with that sadness and energy. And so I hope you'll tune in. And until next time, remember self care isn't selfish. It's essential if we want to continue to care for others and live our best lives. Have a great week.