Autumn is approaching: supporting your immune system through the colder months
You can feel autumn arriving before you properly notice it.
The mornings are darker, the air is cooler and suddenly we're reaching for warmer clothes, heartier food and a bit more sleep.
Our bodies and our moods notice the change too. So rather than trying to fight the season, perhaps it's a good time to start paying a little more attention to what we need.
Despite it sounding complicated (and often expensive), supporting your health through the colder months doesn't require a cupboard full of supplements or a complete lifestyle overhaul. It's much simpler than that: eat well, keep moving, get outside, rest and notice what your body is telling you.
Eat food that makes you feel looked after
Summer eating is naturally a little different. There are salads eaten outside, berries straight from the fridge, ice cream after dinner and meals that don't require much cooking at all. Then autumn arrives and suddenly soup sounds like the best idea in the world.
I love that shift. Not because one way of eating is healthier than the other, but because our food naturally changes with the season. This is the time of year for big pots of soup, roasted vegetables, lentil dishes, baked apples, porridge, stews and meals that make the kitchen smell wonderful.
Rather than searching for one magical “immune-boosting” ingredient, think about the bigger picture. A varied diet, with plenty of fruit and vegetables, wholegrains, protein, healthy fats and the nutrients your body needs, gives your immune system the foundations it needs to do its job.
And food can be nourishing in more ways than one. There is something comforting to the mind about carving out time to make a dish on a Sunday afternoon and knowing you'll have lunch sorted for the week ahead.
Nourishment doesn’t need to be complicated to count.
what I’m doing this autumn
I'm making my favourite lunch on repeat: homemade baked beans by Gill Mellor. They're easy to make and serve 6 so can be eaten throughout the week for a warm, filling, healthy lunch. I spoon mine over a slice of toasted sourdough with a poached egg on top. Comforting, homemade and full of fibre without needing loads of time.
Change the way you move, not whether you move
There's a temptation to divide the year into fitness seasons.
Summer is for being outside and feeling energetic whilst there is definitely something quite nice about autumn giving us permission to do less. But that doesn’t mean we need to stop altogether.
I know the shorter days encourage us indoors and the weather doesn't always invite us out. We naturally begin to crave warmth, comfort and quieter evenings, but our bodies don't really work that way. They still need to be used and looked after so it becomes all about what you’re doing, not whether you’d doing something at all.
Maybe a long walk in the rain doesn't sound quite as appealing as it did in July. But maybe a strength session in a warm studio suddenly feels wonderful. Maybe you find yourself wanting slower, steadier movement rather than high-intensity workouts, or maybe you embrace getting out and running whist you watch your breath lead the way. Listen to that.
Regular movement can support our physical health, but it also gives us somewhere to put our energy. It can help us sleep, clear our heads and feel more connected to our bodies.
And on the days when you're tired, a walk might be exactly right. On other days, a challenging lifting session might be what you need.
There is no prize for doing the hardest version but your body will thank you if you keep moving in some form each week.
what I’m doing this autumn
I've just added a pull-up bar to the Garden Studio kit list, so I'm looking forward to working on upper-body strength with both myself and my clients. A little change of equipment, a new challenge and a different way to keep progressing is my plan to keep us all feeling strong and energised.
Go outside, even when it's not summer
I think one of the easiest habits to lose as the seasons change is simply being outside. The car becomes the journey to school. The office becomes the day. Then it's dark by the time we're home. But autumn is worth noticing.
The changing leaves, the misty mornings, the first frost, the smell of damp earth, the different light. And whilst you don't need to turn it into a hike or a fitness challenge, there are little tweaks you can make to your routine to make sure you are still soaking up that vitamin D.
Walk around the block.
Take the long way home.
Have your morning coffee outside.
Go into the garden for five minutes without needing to do anything.
Sometimes wellness is simply remembering that we are part of the world outside our front door.
what I’m doing this autumn
My plan is a very simple one: coffee outside, in my dressing gown before I do anything else. Even when the mornings get colder and I’m short on time, I’m popping my dressing gown and these cosy cabin socks right by the door so there’s no excuse as I want to keep that little bit of outside time before the day gets going.
Supporting your immune system isn't about doing everything right
There is no perfect autumn routine. We will all still get tired. We will still have late nights. We’ll probably eat something that isn't particularly nutritious and skip a workout because life gets in the way. And that’s fine.
Supporting your health isn't about getting every decision right. It's about the things you do most of the time.
Eat well. Move your body. Get outside. Sleep. Rest. Stay connected. Pay attention to how you're feeling and when the season changes, allow your habits to change with it.
Perhaps the healthiest thing we can do this autumn is stop trying to outsmart the season and start paying attention to what it is asking of us.
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