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Zuletzt aktualisiert am 12.12.2025
The social media trend is entering the next round. This year as well, many people want to use the quiet winter months to experience their own Winter Arc. What does that mean? The Winter Arc is a global trend where the cold season is not used for laziness, but actively for self-reflection and personal development. The goal? To start the new year stronger and achieve a real glow-up.
At Vetain, we’re big fans of self-improvement and want to show you in this article how you too can use the Winter Arc for yourself. We’ll take you by the hand and accompany you through the coming months.
This blog article is part of our series “Getting through winter with Vetain,” which accompanies you through the coming months and shows you how to get through winter feeling good.
Your knowledge to go: Winter Arc
The Winter Arc is your personal way to actively use the quieter season for self-reflection, healthy routines, and new habits. The goal: to start the new year feeling stronger, more balanced, and motivated.
Some ideas for your Winter Arc include: balanced nutrition, drinking enough water, regular movement, stress management, good sleep, mindfulness & reflection, and digital detox.
Habit trackers can help you build new habits, stay consistent, and shape your arc successfully.
Your Winter Arc doesn’t have to be perfect – small, sustainable steps often take you further than radical changes. Do what works for you.
How does the Winter Arc work?
In your Winter Arc, you set personal goals or challenges in areas where you’d like to improve yourself. What exactly those are is completely individual. While some people focus on exercise & nutrition, others may prioritize meditation or regular self-reflection. You then try to implement these challenges as consistently as possible over the coming months, so you can start the new year refreshed and energized.
Essentially, these are New Year’s resolutions – just decided earlier and hopefully kept longer than two days! ;)
We’ve collected the 7 best ideas with a focus on nutrition, exercise & wellbeing to help you start your Winter Arc. What’s important: you don’t have to implement all seven ideas. Choose what sounds interesting and realistic for you. The key is to reflect on your own needs and find what genuinely works for you.
Idea 1: Balanced nutrition
You hear and read it everywhere – a balanced, vitamin-rich diet is essential, including for your Winter Arc. And although most people know what belongs to a healthy diet (fruit, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, etc.), putting it into practice is often not that easy. In everyday life, there’s often little time to explore a new way of eating, or you simply haven’t found healthy recipes that you really enjoy yet. Add to that countless guides, gurus, and tips online about what you’re “allowed” to eat and what not – and suddenly the overwhelm becomes overwhelming.
We’ve of course joined the guide crowd and written a fun little article about balanced nutrition. In it, we show you how balanced eating can be enjoyable, free of restrictions, and easy to implement step by step.
Many people also turn to dietary supplements to easily increase their nutrient intake. Sounds interesting to you?
Here you can find out which supplements might be relevant for you: Which supplements should you take?
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Idea 2: Drink enough water
As grandma always said: the brain needs to swim – so make sure you drink enough. The best beverage for us is, of course, water. But unsweetened teas, water with fresh fruit, spritzers, or protein lemonades also count toward your fluid intake and make it easier to drink enough. A warm cup of tea in between also warms you from the inside, which feels especially nice in winter.
The DGE recommends drinking around 1.5 liters per day.
Vetain’s Winter Arc tip: If you tend to forget drinking, reminder apps can help. A nice bottle can also motivate you to drink more and makes it easy to take your beverage with you wherever you go.
Idea 3: Regular movement
Exercise during the Winter Arc? I know, it keeps getting worse! ;) Regular movement – ideally outdoors – is important for your entire body and also for your mental health. With sufficient exercise, you can not only build muscle, lose weight, and change your appearance, but also do something really good for your mind.
We’ve already written an article on physical activity, explaining the official recommendations and how to implement them in everyday life: How often should you exercise?.
And even though it often takes effort to step out into the cold winter air – after a winter walk, you usually feel great, your head feels clearer, and you really look forward to a warm cup of tea and a cozy moment on the couch.
Try to motivate yourself to move 2–3 times per week – it will soon become routine.
Idea 4: Stress management
Stress is pure poison for your body – but unfortunately part of everyday life for many. Why not try a new way of dealing with stress instead of scrolling TikTok for hours? ;)
Relaxation techniques such as breathing exercises or meditation are very popular. If that feels like too much, small me-time moments in everyday life can also work wonders: a quiet cup of tea, a relaxing bath in the evening, or a few deep breaths. Updating your to-do list and postponing non-urgent tasks to the new year or spring can also help. Lists, in general, can clear your mind and free up mental space.
Idea 5: Really good and sufficient sleep
Getting enough high-quality sleep is essential to feel fit and energized during the day. This is when your body regenerates.
Experts recommend 7–9 hours of sleep per night. But good sleep isn’t just about duration – sleep hygiene is just as important. We all know the feeling of sleeping eight hours and still waking up exhausted.
Good sleep hygiene includes:
A regular sleep–wake rhythm
A calm, dark, and cool sleep environment
No blue light before bed
Avoid caffeine, alcohol & heavy meals before sleep
A relaxing evening routine
Idea 6: Reflection & mindfulness
Take a quiet moment to reflect on what you’re currently satisfied with in your life and where you see room for improvement. Think about your goals and dreams and what steps could help you reach them. Journaling or simply writing down how you feel can help you understand what you need for your personal Winter Arc.
Mindfulness deserves its own article – but start small. Appreciate little moments: a good cup of coffee, a flower by the roadside, or warm sunlight on your face.
Tip 7: Digital detox
Winter is the perfect time to press pause. A small digital detox helps clear your mind, reduce overstimulation, and become more present. You don’t have to quit social media entirely – fixed offline times, phone-free evenings, or fewer notifications can already make a big difference.
Our hack: Habit tracker
If you’re missing a bit of motivation, our digital habit tracker can help. With the Vetain Habit Tracker, you can define goals, break them down into small steps, and build habits you actually stick to. It combines daily, monthly, and yearly tracking to support your Winter Arc.
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Healthy routines become a motivating challenge instead of a chore – helping you maintain your habits even beyond the Winter Arc.
Conclusion
Ready for your Winter Arc? Then start now. Remember: slow, sustainable change often works better than radical transformation. Your Winter Arc doesn’t need to look perfect – it just needs to move you forward.
For more inspiration on nutrition, fitness & lifestyle, visit our blog.
Do you have questions? Then feel free to send me an email – I’m looking forward to hearing from you! :)
The information shared in this article does not replace individual medical or nutritional advice.
Literatur & Quellen
Bundesinstitut für Öffentliche Gesundheit (BIÖG) auf infektionsschutz.de (aktualisiert in 2025). Händewaschen schützt.
Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung (Hrsg.) (2006). Nationale Empfehlungen für Bewegung und Bewegungsförderung. In: Forschung und Praxis der Gesundheitsförderung, Sonderheft 03.
DGE (o.J.). DGE-Empfehlungen: Am besten Wasser trinken.
