How Winter Weather Can Affect Your Mood (and What to Do About It)

We’re heading into a stretch of very cold weather soon, and if you’re already feeling your energy dip just thinking about it, you’re not alone. For a lot of people, winter doesn’t just change the temperature outside, it changes how life feels day-to-day.

Cold weather can have an impact on mood. This could be because winter shifts two major things that support mental health: connection and movement.

1) Cold weather can make you more isolated

When it’s freezing out, the little things that keep us connected start to disappear. You might cancel plans more often, leave the house less, or decide it’s just easier to stay in. Even if you like being cozy at home, too much isolation can start to feel heavy, especially if you’re already stressed or overwhelmed.

Isolation can look like:

• staying in for days at a time without meaning to

• feeling “stuck” in your apartment or routine

• having fewer things to look forward to

Humans are wired for connection. So, when winter naturally reduces your social contact, it makes sense if your mood starts to shift too.

2) Cold weather can mean less movement

Movement is one of those things that supports mental health in ways we don’t always notice until it’s missing. When it’s cold out, walks get shorter (or disappear), errands become “I’ll do it tomorrow,” and you may spend more time sitting or resting.

Less movement can impact mood because it affects:

• energy and motivation

• stress levels in the body

• sleep quality

• overall emotional regulation

And it doesn’t mean you need to suddenly become a gym person. It just means your body might be craving more motion than winter is naturally giving it.

How to Support Your Mood When It’s Freezing Out

The goal isn’t to force yourself into a “perfect winter routine.” It’s simply to be conscious of isolation and movement, because those are two common mood-shifters this time of year.

Try a quick check-in:

Am I feeling worse because I’m alone more than usual? Am I feeling worse because I’ve been moving less than usual?

If the answer is yes to either one, that’s not a failure — it’s useful information.

Gentle ways to support yourself:

• Schedule one connection point this week (coffee, a phone call, a quick dinner, even a walk around a store together)

• Add small movement to your day (10 minutes counts — stretching, stairs, walking indoors, anything)

• Pair the two when you can (a walk-and-talk phone call is a mood booster combo)

• Lower the bar for what “social” and “active” need to look like in winter

A reminder for the cold stretch ahead

If the next few weeks feel harder emotionally, that makes sense. Cold weather can change our routines, reduce our support, and make everything feel a little more effortful.

Be kind to yourself. Stay aware of isolation and movement. And if you notice your mood slipping, you don’t have to “push through” alone — support is allowed.

If you’re looking for a space to process the season you’re in (literally or emotionally), therapy can help.

Warmly, Growing Sideways Therapy