Expert offers ways to maintain wellness during pandemic and long winter days

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBMA) — During this difficult time, it's more important now more than ever to stay on top of your wellness. We've all been through a lot of stress and experts say you should manage it before it gets too late.

We're in the middle of a pandemic, seeing a lot of things out of the ordinary, and on top of all of that, the days are getting longer.

"Especially with winter. An important thing to remember is we don't have as much sunlight, so something I always tell people is to get more daylight hours," says

Megan McMurray PhD, a UAB clinical psychologist and assistant professor.

Just sitting by the window doesn't count. She recommends taking a walk outside, since nature helps you deal with anxiety.

The more sunlight you get, the better it helps with your circadian rhythm, which is your sleep cycle.

Acknowledging your feelings helps ease stress too.

"A lot of times we do things to get rid of our negative feelings or emotions. We try to avoid them, we push them aside, do things to distract ourselves, eat too many foods that are really sugary, that kind of thing so one thing I would suggest is be in tune with what they are feeling and what they are thinking," says McMurray.

Exercise is also always helpful, whether you're heading to the gym or working out at home.

Mcmurray's go-to for a release is yoga.

"I really found that to be an enjoyable way to incorporate this awesome skill of mindfulness, which helps with staying in tune with your mind and body with the fitness aspect and physical activity," she says.

It's also recommended to eat foods that make you feel good, but try to keep it healthy.

Dr. Mcmurray says it's best to handle your stress now rather than later because holding everything in can have negative long term effects on several systems in your body.