What I Learned from Camping at -5 degrees Celsius
From Thursday to Tuesday (yesterday) I was camping on Canada’s East Coast in Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia (near Halifax, Cole Harbour, etc.)
I was nervous about the trip. I’ve never winter camped before (in a tent, no less). I’ve winter surfed, but never without warm water or a wood-burning stove or central heating to come home to. Would I freeze? Starve? Feel wet and cold all weekend long?
No, no and no, but I learned a lot in the process. Particularly about our metabolism and circadian rhythms and how to best adjust to the winter season with its shorter days and cold temperatures for the winter months.
What I learned:
Our body is intelligent and wise.
We are able to cold adapt if we listen to our bodies’ needs. Mine was telling me to move, to stay dry, to expose myself to the sun, to eat enough calories (meat, eggs, trailmix and granola). I slept early and a lot. As long as I ate and conserved my energy, put on more layers once I felt a chill, and moved my body to improve my body’s circulation and metabolism, I felt warm and cozy and energized.
I realized that our bodies are equipped for anything, as long as we listen to their attempts to adapt. A friend who was travelling with us seemed disconnected from his body. Despite being an outdoorsman, I observed that he didn’t eat enough, consumed too much alcohol and chose to nap during the day despite the fact that we only had access to 8 hours of precious sunlight.
He fell in the river and rather than moving to warm his body up, he lay down and napped, which failed to keep him warm. I observed that his mood dropped throughout the trip and he had a hard time adjusting to the lack of warmth and light from the planet. This contrast emphasized the importance of respecting our bodies, nourishing them properly, moving them and caring for them, while adapting to the circumstances of nature and light-dark rhythms.
It made me think of how so many of us need to work inside during the few and precious daylight hours. How we access screens late at night after the sun has long gone down. How we avoid going outside because of the cold, even though outside is where the sun is.
It made me think how our appetite naturally increases in the winter as our bodies burn more energy to keep us warm and stoke out metabolisms and yet many of us rally against this, trying to eat less and go on diets to decrease our waistlines.
Our bodies are wise. What gifts will we derive from listening to them?
Adapt to the waves of light and dark.
The sun rose every morning around 7 am and set around 5pm. This gave us 10 hours of sunlight a day. As a result I rose with the sun (usually my bladder woke me up) and went to bed soon after the sun set.
I spent the day working (clearing an area for a driveway, making paths in the forest), surfing and hiking. We relied on the fire at night for warmth and food. The blankets we huddled under were hot and inviting and so it wasn’t long after the sun set and the fire died when we went to bed. There wasn’t much to do in the dark and the energy it took to keep warm didn’t feel worth it. The cold would cause sleepiness to overtake me.
I downloaded my Oura ring data when I got back and found that some nights I slept for 10 hours or more!
It struck me that we often try to fight this need for more sleep in the winter. We don’t get outside as much, so we don’t expose our eyes to sunlight. We use artificial lighting at night and so override our natural circadian rhythms. We might feel more tired and depressed during the winter months because we aren’t adapting to the light-dark cycles the way our ancestors were forced to–we try to maintain productivity despite the fact that the sun is delivering less light-giving energy.
When I got back from my trip, I went to sleep at 8:30pm, true to form. I woke up feeling fantastic and went for a morning walk to watch the sunrise.
Here are some important considerations for adjusting to winter:
1) Get sunlight as much as possible.
It can be tricky to have to spend 8 hours of the day in an office at work when there are only 8 hours of daylight to go around. If you can, spend time near a window, fit in a morning walk, or walk right after work, or a walk a lunchtime, prioritize this as much as possible.
If natural light is impossible, light lamps might help. They won’t be a full solution, though. Fire places provide infrared light, which can be helpful for healing red light in the evening hours.
Get sun exposure where it’s available. Avoid wearing sunglasses if possible and expose as much of your skin as your feel comfortable.
2) Vitamin D.
Take Cod live oil for the right ratio of vitamin A to D, along with magnesium for D activation. Talk to your ND about getting on the right supplement regime.
3) Go to bed earlier, if possible.
During the darker months, we might end up feeling sleepier than normal. If you can let go of your perfectionism and accept less productivity, priotizing sleep and rest during this Yin time, it may improve mood and energy levels throughout these months.
I definitely feel I need more sleep during this time. Keep in mind most mammals are hibernating. Birds have flown south. Our ancestors likely conserved fuel, lamp oil and heat by going to bed earlier, snuggling under the covers with family members and pets to stay warm. Sleep is part of nature’s demands for us at this this time of year. As the Earth slows down, so should we.
Perhaps lowering the temp in your house can help support this need for sleep, the way that the dropping night temperatures encouraged me to hibernate beneath the covers around 7-8pm. Turning off bright lights will also help with this.
Notice how, when you lower light and temp in the evenings, sleepiness overtakes you.
4) Move your body.
Movement improves circulation and muscle health, stoking metabolism, which supports cold tolerance and adaptation. It might feel too cold to go outside, but once your body gets moving you will notice how fast you warm up and how much tolerable the cold can be.
Movement outside, especially during daylight hours is essential for mental health at this time of year.
5) Honour your cravings.
Starchy vegetables, meat stew, soups, apples, granola, nuts. Notice if you crave different foods at this time. Notice when you’re overeating sugar and refined carbs and if this may be your body compensating for not getting enough whole-food calories.
Our bodies don’t work the same way in the winter that they do in the summer. In the summer you might feel great on salads, smoothies and low carb dinners like barbecued chicken and vegetables.
During the winter you might need more potatoes or rice, root veggies and warming spices. You might eat more meat as a way to get micronutrients. You’ll likely need more protein to preserve and build warmth and muscle. You might turn to canned foods, frozen vegetables, less tropical fruit and more starchy veggies.
Your mitochondria are working harder during these months to keep you warm (if you get outside and get the appropriate amount of cold exposure, which has tons of anti-inflammatory and mood-stimulating benefits). We need to respect them by consuming enough calories, protein, micronutrients (B vitamins, magnesium and other minerals, etc.) and healthy saturated fats from butter, tallow and eggs. We need salt.
It is good for our digestion to eat cooked and warming foods during this time of year. Pumpkin spices. Cinnamon, ginger, warm teas for liquids.
Warm foods and drinks warm up the body and help stoke our metabolic fire that supports cold adaptation. Hunger and a strong digestive system are a gift during these months.
Honour your appetite. Don’t fight your body. Eat salt. Don’t compare how you look right now to how you look in the summer months (or to that tanned, shredded health influencer posting from Costa Rica). You’re not them. You’re a winter bear. You need nutrients.
While winter is a hard time of year with its lack of light and warmth, it can be a beautiful time of year. It can be an opportunity for more stillness, quiet and nourishmment. It can be an opportunity for connection and coziness (what the Danish call Hygge). Warm socks, fires. Skating and hiking in the snow. Snow angels. Beautiful long sunsets and long shadows on the sparkling white snow.
There is a quote I’m reminded of at this time of year:
“If you choose not to find joy in the snow, you will have less joy in your life but still the same amount of snow.”
Remember that the season is not the problem–our ancestors have adapted to the cold over thousands of years. What is different it our societal habits and attitudes–our addiction to productivity and image. If we lean into nature’s rhythms, we might learn to find joy in the snow and get through the winter better in touch with our bodies and a deeper respect for this time of rest and adventure that the Earth provides.
What I learn from surfing is to roll with, harness and absorb the waves of life. Don’t fight them. A year comes in seasons. Breathe into change rather than resisting it. Let your body do its thing to keep you warm, safe, energized and happy.
What helps you get through the winter?