THE dark nights are well and truly here and the temperature is beginning to plummet.

Some of you won’t even see any light before or after work and that has a big impact on your life that can change your daily routines hugely.

Apart from a lack of Vitamin D – the chemicals that make you feel great and the stuff your body creates when you’re in the sun – the darkness also changes your exercise habits, and it often gives people an excuse not to.

If you’re not careful, you will suffer from a lack of both Vitamin D and the endorphins that your body produces when you’re active or exercising, and is the real reason why people suffer the “winter blues”.

You might be forgiven for thinking you've got "SAD" syndrome, but in reality no such condition exists, it's just something that the media made up a few years back and gives people an excuse to be miserable!

Quick question - did you know that the number of visitors to a physio clinic like mine complaining of lower back stiffness increases by more than 30 per cent between October and April? It's true, and I’ll explain why.

In the summer it's easy to stumble across a new love for being active. Whether it’s walking, cycling or jogging, on your own or with friends.

But when the dark nights draw in it’s a lot easier to take one look out of the window and skip it.

If that’s the case you’re going to end up spending much more time indoors and crucially, sitting.

Sitting in your car or on the bus, sitting at work, sitting on the way home from work and now, because the weather's colder, six months of sitting on the couch and staring at the TV awaits.

At least that’s what can happen. So, what’s the solution? It’s simple really. Don’t change anything.

Your exercise routine shouldn’t change. Where you do it - the sea front or local park - doesn’t need to change and even the why you do it - to feel great and keep healthy - shouldn’t either.

The only thing that needs to change is the how you do it. As in, what you wear to shut out the cold and damp and keep you safe in the dark.

It’s just a simple case of investing in the right clothes and equipment.

When it comes to the weather here, I’m a big believer that the only difference between a good day and bad day is the clothing you’re wearing.

So, here’s a big tip: to keep active and exercising all year round, when you’re exercising in summer and you’re feeling great about the amount of exercising you’re doing, and then is the time to start thinking about what it is that you’re going to need to invest in.

Here’s a little know fact - there’s actually lots of research into this which suggests that treating yourself to the right clothing or equipment will make exercising more pleasant and you will be more likely to sustain it even in winter.

If you are serious about your health and you do want to keep active, consider investing just a little bit of time and money on warmer exercise clothing or reflective equipment before winter arrives to make exercising much more enjoyable.