Winter can be brutal, but research shows you might get some health benefits during the colder months. When it’s cold, your body has to work harder to maintain its core body temperature — and as a result, you might burn more calories. Colder temperatures can help reduce both allergies and inflammation.
Benefits
- When you’re exercising in the cold air, your heart works double time to keep you warm. So, if you want to stay active in the winter, a brisk jog in the cold air might do you some good. Though, be cautious in the winter if you suffer from heart disease.
- Colder temperatures help people think clearly. Researcher shows that people perform tasks better when the room temperature is set at a cooler setting than a warmer one. People are less inclined to tackle cognitive problems in the summer, as opposed to winter, because the summer uses more glucose that’s needed for mental processes.
- Good news for those with outdoor allergies, pollen counts are nonexistent in the cold and snowy weather. If you spend time outside in the snow you will not have to worry about any allergies, but inside you are still exposed to things like mold and dust mites.
- Catching a cold is still likely during cold weather, but you are in the clear for several diseases and viruses that are more prevalent during warmer temperatures. Mosquitos are known to carry a lot of diseases, but during the winter they are hibernating. Your immune system is capable to fight off any infection.
- It is known that while you sleep that your body’s core temperature drops faster during the winter than in the summer. If you keep your bedroom temperature between 60 and 67 degrees, you are likely to burn more calories. Burning more calories also happens when you spend time outside in the cold air.
- When you are doing various activities outside in the cold weather it is actually good for your heart. It makes working out fun and challenging. Also, it allows more oxygenated blood to compensate for the activity, ensure the body maintains a warm temperature to stay balanced, and avoid a drop-in temperature.
- Moderately cold temperatures could be good for skin’s health because it constrains blood vessels in the skin. This makes the vessels less prone to redness and swelling, as a result of a reduction in blood flow, explains Tucker. Plus, you tend to produce less oil and sebum in the winter, so you may have fewer breakouts.
- Cold weather can actually do your heart some good when you’re bracing it for your winter workouts outdoors. Cold weather makes working out a fun and challenging activity, and the heart will have to pump more oxygenated blood to not only compensate for the activity but also to ensure that the body maintains a warm enough temperature to stay within balance and to avoid any risks from a drop in temperature.
- Winter is a fun time to try different snow activities. Sledding, building a snowman, iceskating, skiing, and visiting winter parks are some fun excursions that you can enjoy solo or with loved ones.
- Before heading outside, be sure to bundle up to maximize the time you will be spending outdoors. Although many people will attest to despising snow, doing some fun activities in it once in a while can also boost your mood and energy levels. Since snow mostly reflects light coming from the daytime, it can also serve as a form of light therapy for those who are having depressive mood swings staying indoors during the winter months.
