Winter tip #2: Rest, give yourself plenty of time to sleep, take breaks - You'll achieve more in the long run.

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• In Traditional Chinese Medicine, winter is the most Yin time of the year. It means that in the cycles of seasons, this is the time for slowing down and resting, for cooling down. And that’s quite critical for us: we need our winter extra rest so that we can experience our full energy potential when spring and summer come along. If we’d just follow how we truly feel, we all have a tendency to sleep longer in the winter. Think of a tulip bulb: if you store it in a dark cool place in the winter, it will come out strong in the spring. It needs that break to concentrate its essence, and though winter looks like a dead time, it is actually when nature rejuvenates. In the winter times, our ancestors spent long hours by the fire, doing minor repair jobs for their tools, preparing for the spring, telling stories, and relaxing. With unlimited access to artificial light and power for heat, we have created for ourselves a modern hasty lifestyle that does not respect our natural rhythms.

• Am I reading your mind? – Nice in theory, but it just does not fit my busy schedule! I have important things to do, I can’t relax now, it’s the busiest time for me, etc. Well, you can take care of what’s important for you, and still plan a few moments that will allow you to rest and rejuvenate. I am pretty sure you can realistically plan some time for breaks between November and March. It’s really a matter of planning, and it is key to your health.

• I find that if I take a few days off early November, and then again a week or two at Christmas, or in February, my energy stays good throughout the winter, I do not dread year-end, I rarely get sick, and I enjoy winter sports in February without feeling drained.