Winter Fertility Strategies
Did you know that strategies to improve your fertility in the winter are different from what you should do in the spring, summer and autumn?
In fact, if you miss out on some of the steps in the winter, then it will have a knock-on effect on your fertility in subsequent seasons.
The Secret To Seasonal Fertility
The key to changing what you do with your fertility each season is to follow the flow of nature. This sounds cheesy, but it's true! Your body was programmed to live thousands of years ago. What you do throughout a day, month or season should change with your environment.
You cannot escape the fact that your body works to circadian rhythms. The 24-hour cycles that regulate natural changes in hormones, temperature and digestion throughout the day. Energy and action are needed during the day and rest and repair at night.
Just like you can work with your circadian rhythm to help promote melatonin to help you feel sleepy, get deep sleep and boost your egg quality - you can also work with your biorhythms across seasons to improve your fertility.
How To Improve Your Fertility In The Winter
If you want to improve your fertility and balance your hormones, then think like a tree. Trees drop their leaves in the autumn, then draw inwards and store their energy. It's a time of hibernation, for conserving energy, staying warm and doing less.
Why Fertility Gets Worse In The Winter
The problem is that we often go against what our body really needs and fertility suffers. Working late, being too busy and pushing through tiredness to get the to-do list done all contribute to feeling burnt out and damaging adrenals. If you push too hard in the winter then it can deplete your energy, hormones and egg quality.
3 Strategies To Support Your Fertility In The Winter
1. Warm Feet = Warm Womb
At least 50% of the women I work with have cold hands, feet, nose, womb and lower back. Check these areas on yourself now. If you have cold feet, then are your ankles and lower legs cold too? In Chinese medicine, it's very important to have warm feet because the kidney channel that governs fertility travels from your feet, up the inside of your legs and into your womb.
Cold contracts the body and isn't an optimal environment for an embryo to implant and a baby to grow. That's why in the second half of your cycle, your temperature rises with progesterone and naturally warms your womb in preparation for implantation. Think of animals that sit on their eggs to keep them warm and help them grow.
Stay warm by wearing extra layers, take Epsom salt baths and improve your circulation. Leave salads and cold drinks for the summertime and choose hearty warming food for the winter. Soups, stews, roasted food and warm drinks are all good for you right now.
2. Do Less To Do More
If you want to balance your hormones, then say no to extra tasks at work, scale down your to-do list at home and take time out for self-care. It can be hard to shift gears when you're used to always being busy. It takes a conscious effort to slow down and give yourself permission to take time out, but it is so worth it. Your adrenals and sex hormones will thank you in the Spring.
Choose rejuvenating exercises and don't overexert yourself. Things like yoga and tai chi are perfect for winter. Follow natural rhythms, eat earlier and go to bed earlier.
3. Reflect On Your Life
Winter is a time to reflect on the year that has passed and to reassess life. It is important to have time to process events. Your emotions affect your health. If you are stressed, frustrated or feel guilty, then this disrupts your endocrine system and changes your hormones. It also damages the immune system and makes you more susceptible to illness.
Find whatever it is that helps you to reflect. It might be meditation, a winter walk or a quiet moment in a warm bubble bath.