Tips for Staying Safe and Healthy in the Cold Winter Months

The Winter Months Can Dry Your Eyes

Winters can bring trouble to eyes. From itching, burning to grittiness, the cold weather can make your eye dry. The extremely low temperature restricts the eye to develop ample tears to keep the eyes hydrated, resulting in dryness and itchiness.

When your eyes come in contact with chilly winds or the dry air from the heater, it tends to dry the moisture in your eyes. Often eye dryness results in several other severe ailments such as redness and sores. It is vital to keep your eye safe from the chilly winds in order to avoid dryness.

Winter Triggers Breathing Issues

People who have asthma would know how hard it is to survive the season. Winters are not ideal for asthmatic people as the cold weather directly affects breathing. People who are suffering from asthma find it difficult to breathe. Winters also mean less outing and more indoor hangouts. Staying indoors also makes people prone to dust, dander, and mold that can instantly trigger an asthma attack.

It is advised that people who have asthma must keep themselves safe while winter and take necessary medications to keep their asthma in control. Keep your home as clean as possible to avoid contact with dust. Whenever you move out, make sure that you have protected your body from the cold weather outside.

The Winter Months Can Make You SAD

Not implying to sadness, SAD (seasonal affective disorder is a form of depression witnessed in people in winter. It generally begins in the fall and continues till the winter. This unique form of depression includes extreme sleepiness, loss of interest, increased appetite, sensations in limbs, social awkwardness or withdrawal, and hopelessness. All these symptoms can make the person irritated and frustrated.

The reason why SAD is witnessed in winter because it is the season when people feel lethargic and tend to stay indoors for a long that can culminate in the SAD symptoms. There are several treatments and therapies for SAD. Doctors recommend that light therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and exercise can help tame the symptoms of SAD.

It Cracks Your Skin

One of the significant concerns of entering the winter season is your skin condition which tends to get worse with the dipping temperature. The chilly cold winds can dry your skin developing cracks and burns. When humidity gets low, cold weather tends to take a toll on your skin health. Your skin will start becoming dry if you are not keeping them moisturized.

The dryness can also result in several other skin ailments such as dry skin can create silvery scales on your skin or give burning sensations. It is advised to keep your skin moisturized every time. Use a good moisturizer that can keep your skin hydrated for longer hours. Take short showers rather than extensive ones to avoid dryness. Use a humidifier in your room to keep your skin hydrated while indoors. Cover your body with winter clothes as well.

Winter Can Make You Lethargic

Staying physically active is one of the essential criteria to keep the body fit and healthy. But, winters won’t even allow you to get out of bed. Lack of physical exercise can make you prone to several muscle and bone ailments. Staying indoors will develop sedentary habits that can weaken your immune system and expose you to contagious diseases.

Also, germs spread quickly when people are nearby. It is advised to do as many physical activities as possible to keep your pump your body with energy. Though it might be challenging to get out in the chilly cold weather, it is just a starting trouble, and once you decide to get out, the weather won’t be a problem. If you can exercise in open, try hitting the gym every day.

Winter Can Change Your Eating Habits

Just like physical activeness, your diet plays a significant role in enhancing your well-being. Winters can also bring significant changes in your eating habits, as well. In winter, your body tends to go through several changes in terms of metabolism, energy levels, and appetite. That can completely change your food preferences.

As mentioned earlier, overeating in winter is a common thing now. When people are bound to stay indoors for an extended period, their boredom compels them to eat more and shift to food items that are easy to digest but harsh on your health. Winters are the time when people start inclining towards junk food. The intake of unhealthy food and physical inactivity together can result in a malicious winter lifestyle. The change in eating habits or, more precisely, overeating leads to sudden weight gain and obesity in some people.

It Makes You Prone To Allergies

Along with chilly winds and lethargy, winters can also bring irritating allergies. There are plenty of allergies that are only developed during the winter season that you must be aware of. If you think that staying indoors can save you from all the possible consequences of the winter season, then you are unfortunately wrong. Your safe indoors actually accommodates severe allergic elements that can trigger ailments.

People usually think that spring is the prime time for catching allergies due to the high count of pollen found in the season. But, winters are also the welcoming aisle for many allergies that you need to keep yourself guarded against.

Weather irritants like pet dander, mildew, and mold are found all around the year, but during winter, people tend to remain ignorant of those often leads to allergic reactions. It is essential to stay vigilant about the dust and dirt in your house. Air furnaces also circulate dust that contains lint, fabric, fiber, bacteria, and everything that can make you extremely ill. Common symptoms of winter allergies majorly include itchy eyes, runny nose, postnasal drip, coughing, and a sore throat. It is essential to keep your surroundings clean in order to steer clear from possible allergies.

Winter Triggers Migraine

Similar to physical ailments, the winter season is also a prime time for frustrating migraines, Research has found that people suffering migraines have witnessed that the winter season tend to enhance the severity of their migraine. Extreme weather, cold storms, fluctuating temperature, barometric pressure anything can be the possible reason for winter migraines. Some studies have shown that many people have found the connection between what’s happening outside and inside their brains. That means, the outer weather condition directly affects our brain.

If you have been dealing with migraines for quite a long time now, then it is necessary to keep all the medication handy before winters raise its intensity. Try to jot down all the instances of your migraines along with their intensity to determine if they are higher during the winter season, Seek assistance from your doctor as well to know more about the winter migraines.

Winter Brings Arthritis

Physical inactivity can lead to several muscle and joint-related ailments, and arthritis is just one among many. Arthritis can affect people all through the year, but it is found that its intensity increases during winter. The cold winters can make it harder to tame the symptoms of arthritis.

There are many types of arthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis is the most common form of arthritis that is intensified in winter. It is found that inflammation of the joints witnessed during arthritis tends to take a severe turn in winter. The cold weather starts affecting joint pain. Even doctors claim that every arthritis patient experiences extreme pain in joints in the winter.

The rise in barometric pressure during the winter season is claimed to be the reason for the increased arthritis pain. It is advised that arthritis patients must focus on stretching and tension-release exercises in order to get relief from chronic joint pain during the winter.

What Should You Do to Keep Yourself Safe and Healthy During the Winter?

As you have been already acquainted with what winters can do to your health, it is crucial to understand what you can do to prevent that. With shorter days and longer nights, winters often make it impossible to keep yourself motivated to stay fit and healthy.

Such lethargy can make your immune system weak and prone to severe ailments in the winter. No wonder there are winter blues that makes a person less excited about doing anything.

Calm Down Your Carb Cravings

Maintaining a well-balanced diet is the first habit towards a safe and healthy winter. The cold weather can compel you to turn towards carbs and other comfort food that can cause possible damage to your health.

Try hard to curb these cravings in winter and shift towards a wholesome and nutritious diet. Divide your meals into tiny sections. Take small meals at regular intervals to trick your brain that you’re eating the whole day.

Humidify the Air

While staying inside is the most common escape plan to safeguard your body from the cold weather, it is essential to make your indoors warm and humid to avoid the chill to ruin your comfy home space. Make air humidifier a necessary component in your winter essentials.

It helps in adding moisture back to the air, prevents skin from drying, and keeps it hydrated for long. It also reduces the risk of virus and bacteria transmission. It is essential to keep your skin hydrated even when you’re at home, and a humidifier is a great means to keep your skin moist.

Spice Up Your Life

If you have been keeping yourself away from the spices, now is the time to make friends with them. Spices are great energy boosters in the winter. It strengthens the immune system, reduces inflammation, balances the mood, and rejuvenates your senses as well.

Lemon, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon are some of the everyday spice staples that you must include in your winter diet. You can add spices in your dishes, smoothies, coffee, or tea. Spices are also known to provide your body with the required inner warmth. Hence, including it in your diet during winter is the best way to keep your body radiated.

Frequently Wash Your Hands

Hygiene starts with your hands. Though it might sound like the most cliché health tip of all time, hand washing is one of the critical criteria to ensure your well-being. Make sure to wash your hands properly in winter. It will help in protecting the immune system and prevent you from catching a cold and flu. With proper hand washing, you can safeguard your health from possible contagious diseases as well.

It does not take much effort to adopt a healthy hand wash habit. Not just hand washing before and after a meal, you must wash your hands properly even before going out and coming back. Frequent hand washing will only help you steer clear from winter-related diseases. It is also advised always to keep a sanitizer in your bag.

Treat Your Body With Steam or Sauna

Winter is the ideal time to treat your body. As mentioned earlier, winter tends to increase the chances of depression, joint pains, and other physical and mental ailments; it is advised to rejuvenate your body and soul with a hot sauna or steam therapy. When the tension and stress start taking a toll over your health, book a sauna or steam room, and relieve all the pressure there.

The high temperature and heat therapy helps relax the tensed muscles because they offer the required heat for the paining joints. It is essential to pamper your skin through all the seasons. In winters, you need to make some extra efforts to make it love your skin. If you can go out for a sauna or steam therapy, you can create your own steam at home and enrich your body with the heat and warmth.

Sleep Longer and Better

Winters are the time when the days get shorter and nights get longer, and this would make your body crave more sleep. Your body will automatically adjust to the pattern of the hours of daylight. It is advised to take a good night’s sleep in the evenings to wake up fresh and rejuvenated.

Use the longer evenings to take short naps to relax your mind and body and keep your body energetic in the daylight by getting good sleep during the night. Rest is an essential process to keep our mind, body, and soul fresh, be it any season. But, the winter season, in particular, requires extra energy and zeal to steer through the day. So, do practice to take proper sleep in the winter so that you can wake up all charged for a sunny winter morning.

Make Meditation Important

When depression and stress start running your winter, meditation can bring an abundance of positivity and rejuvenation to your life. Mediation is the ideal escape from the winter blues as it helps beat lethargy, stress, anxiety, and everything that can possibly make your winters unexciting. Take some time out from your morning schedule to practice meditation.

If you start practicing meditation regularly, you can witness significant changes in your stress levels and anxiety. Meditation is also great to increase concentration. You can practice meditation even in your home, and you need a quiet place where you can meditate peacefully. Take an escape from your busy life and engage in reflection, and the returns will be magnificent.

Stay As Social As Possible

As mentioned earlier, winters can make you lazy and lethargic. You would only want to stay inside your comfy bed and embrace the warmth. Trust me that would do no good to your life. Winters can cut short your social life. Don’t let that happen. Don’t compromise on your social life just because of cold weather. Go out, meet friends, make a plan, and escape the chilly weather with ample companionship. You can even plan vacations with your friends and family as well.

As winters are the time of holidays, please make the most of it by staying socially active throughout the season. Being socially restricted and pulling yourself apart from social life is not a great option to spend your winters. Not being socially active can also bring mental issues like depression and stress. So, if you are not planning to delve into that stress, get out and explore.

Exercise At Home

Staying physically active is extremely important to keep up with the winters. Don’t just stay in your bed and look for some motivation to get up. If you are not able to hit the gym, make your house your gym arena and conduct workout sessions there. You can do a wide variety of workouts from the comforts of your home — for instance, practice yoga, strength training, aerobics, cardio activities, or bodyweight exercises.

Whatever you do, make sure it gives positive results to your body. You can even consult your gym instructor regarding the tasks that you can do at home. Staying physically active will fill your mind, body, and soul with the required energy to beat the chill. Working out at home is the ideal practice to stay inside yet engage in physical activities to keep your body charged in the winter.

Get Your Vehicle Inspected

Winters are the prime time when a majority of accidents happen. Around 480,0000 injuries are caused due to winter-related accidents each year. Apart from driving safely in the winter, it is essential to make sure that your vehicle is reliable for driving around in the winter season. Make sure to apply winter tires to your car so that they are safe for driving on slippery and snowy roads. Ask your mechanic to inspect the vehicle thoroughly before hitting the road.

The safety of your family lies in your hands. Don’t gamble with your family’s safety during the winter and get your vehicle inspected at regular intervals during the winter. Winter servicing of your car is another important task you must do to keep your vehicle winter-ready always. Please don’t hold your vehicle stationary for a longer period in winter, as it will lose its functionality due to the cold weather.

Include Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Your Diet

There are plenty of food nutrients that are required in winter, and omega-3 fatty acids are one among them. It is a type of fat that is majorly found in plant seeds, nuts and fish. Adding omega-3 fatty acids in our diet has many benefits. It is known to treat the stiffness and inflammation of joints. It works as an anti-inflammatory ingredient that relieves arthritis, inflammation, and pain. Studies have even found that omega-3 fatty acids can help in lowering depression and stress levels. If you want to keep yourself fit and healthy, both physically and mentally, it is advised to add this fantastic fat nutrient in your diet.

Make Green Tea Your Companion

During the winter season, it is crucial to keep yourself warm and hot. Drinking hot beverages is the ideal way to consume the hotness and keep your body warm for long. Though you can consume any hot beverage, be it tea or coffee if you want some added benefits to getting addicted to green tea.

Brimmed with antioxidant properties and flavonoids, green tea can benefit your health in more than one way green tea is ideal for reducing the risks of various winter-related ailments like cold, flu, influenza, or allergies. Drinking a cup of green tea every day can steer clear you from the possible. Green tea is also beneficial for treating many severe diseases, as well. It is counted among the herbal teas that are even used in ayurvedic treatments and therapies.

Modify Your Skincare Regime

Your skin is primarily affected by winter weather. The cold chilly winds tend to take out all the moisture from your skin, leaving it dehydrated. Unlike your summer skincare regime, winters need a more rigorous and practical regime. Your skin needs extra hydration and moisture to prevent skin dryness.

Winters can be harsh on your skin. The cold temperature and less humidity can make your skin lose the required moisture. Do not take longer baths as it can make your skin lose moisture. You must use good-quality moisturizers to hydrate your skin during the winter. Skin tends to lose moisture faster in winter than in any other season. Hence, it is vital to make sure you are using the best moisturizer and serum to treat your skin. Start using facial oils, hyaluronic acid, and balms to layer your winter skin with moisture.

Don’t Skip the Sunscreen

The sun’s UV rays are harmful in all seasons. If you think that exposing your skin to the sun’s rays in winter will give you the required warmth, then, unfortunately, you are wrong. It is essential to apply sunscreen, even in winter. Usage of good SPF should not be limited to summers only; your winter skin also needs to be treated well. Researchers have found that ice and snow reflect 80% of rays, making them even harsher for our skin.

Make sure to coat your skin with moisturizer and sunscreen before stepping out in the sun. If you don’t want to ruin your skin and develop sunburns or rashes due to the sun’s harmful rays, then make sunscreen an essential component in your handbag. Invest in quality sunscreens when you are buying it in the winter season. There are plenty of products available in the market, go for the best SPF that would be ideal for your skin.

Install Handrails for Security

The cold and chilly weather can make your stairs slippery and highly dangerous. Even in the home, winters can bring possible threats. With slippery and wet floors, there are ample chances of severe falls that can bring drastic trouble to your health. It is advised to install handrails along your stairs to safeguard you and your family from the unpredictable falls.

Bars are essential if you have any seniors or arthritis patients in your home. It will give them added support and balance while using the stairs. Prioritize the use of handrails to make your household safer. Keeping your stairs open from both sides is dangerous in the first place, and winters would only make the situation worse. Before the winters are around the corner, install handrails on your stairs to steer clear from the possible falls.

Don’t Wait for the New Year to Make a Change

Stop being a couch potato in the winter and take control of your health. In order to shape a healthy lifestyle during winter, it is essential to follow some healthy life practices that will undoubtedly whelp you in safeguarding your health during the winter. There are infinite winter wellness tips that can possibly save your life and ensure that you have a safe, healthy, and fit holiday season. Adopting these healthy winter habits will help you recognize the drawbacks of your health and the ways you can fill in the gap to make things perfect.

Take a look at below healthy winter habits that you must follow in the winter. It won’t take much effort and time to imbibe these life practices into your daily routine. Just a little dedication towards your life and a sense of responsibility towards your health are all you need to steer clear from all the possible consequences of winters. After all, it’s all about keeping you safe and healthy during the winter.

For some, winters can be the most exciting and enthralling part of the year that brings joy to their lives. Whereas there are many, often in the majority, that tend to suffer all through the winters bearing its consequences. As mentioned earlier, there are several ways through which winters can take a toll on your health. From increasing arthritis pain to making you more lethargic, winters can make significant changes in your lifestyle.

To safeguard yourself from accidents and ailments in the winter, it is essential to follow some healthy practices that will help you sail smoothly in the winter. The above-mentioned were some of the best healthy habits that you must adopt in your life, especially during winter months.

Enjoy the weather to its most, but make sure to keep yourself safe, healthy, and sound. Do not forget to make these healthy habits a part of your daily life.