Healthy Seasonal Tips To Weather The Season

There are many tips and tricks out there telling people how to live a healthy life.  Many of them work, and some are only helpful for certain people.  Here are a few tried and true healthy seasonal tips to keep you well this season!

Drink plenty of hot fluids

If you’re chilled, drink plenty of warm to hot fluids so your body doesn’t have to use its depleted energy to warm both the fluids and your body.  Our bodies are constantly losing heat but it happens much faster when the temperature drops.   Since heat is a form of energy, this means we need to use our stored energy to replenish that heat.   We can conserve some of that energy by drinking warm or hot fluids to keep our body temperatures up during the cold months.

Invest in the right gear

Have good quality, weather-appropriate outerwear.  It makes all the difference.  Keep in mind that the wind might be your biggest problem, so windproof and rainproof warm jackets are worth the investment

Cover-up properly

There are certain areas of the body that lose heat faster than others.  Think about it this way.  If you’re completely covered from the neck down, the place you’ll be losing the most heat is your head.  Make sure to cover that as well so that the surface area exposed to the cold air is as small as possible. Other parts of the body, when chilled, have a greater impact on your immune defenses. As you may have noticed, your lungs and respiratory tract are often the most susceptible to harsh weather and are the first areas to develop symptoms when overexposed.  That’s why you should take extra precautions to cover your chest, upper back and neck when the cold winds blow.  Your feet are another part of your body that can get chilled easily.  Keeping your feet dry and your socks warm is key to keeping your toes warm.  Click here for more information.

Move your body!

If you do light exercise regularly, it boosts your immune system so you’re less likely to be susceptible to colds and flus this season.  Exercise increases blood flow and circulation allowing your antibodies and white blood cells to move through your system more easily.  Your antibodies are what detect and fight disease.  If they’re able to move through your system faster and easier, they’ll be able to detect and fight illness earlier.  Here is more information if you’re interested

Eat right

If you do get sick, stay away from foods that contribute to congestion like dairy, sugar, and flour.   DO have plenty of hot liquids and warm foods like chicken or vegetable soup, which contain a good amount of electrolytes as well as immune-stimulating constituents.  Raw veggies may not be the answer because they are more work for your body to digest.  Veggies are mostly water so the same principle applies as above; you don’t want to use your energy reserves heating up your food after consumption.   If you’re interested in learning more about the studies behind chicken soup click here and here.

Sleep well!

Good sleep keeps your body functioning properly.  Poor sleep depresses your immune system and keeps you from replenishing your energy.  Adults need at least 7-9 hours of sleep while teenagers need 9-10 hours and school-aged children may need 10+ hours.  More is not necessarily better.  More sleep than stated above may lead to poor quality sleep which leads to trouble falling asleep or trouble waking up.  During sleep your body produces proteins called cytokines which help fight infection.  Poor sleep decreases the production of these protective proteins leaving your body more susceptible.  For more information click here.

Fresh air

Don’t forget that even if it’s cold outside, fresh air can do wonders for your health.

Wash Your Hands Frequently

Wash your hands frequently, especially when you have been exposed to other people.  You’re less likely to catch their germs that way.  If you’re unable to wash when you might need to, keep your hands away from your face, especially your nose, mouth, and eyes, places where germs can more easily enter your body.  On the other hand, don’t let this lead to germaphobia.  Your immune system needs to stay strong which means it needs to be exposed in small, regular doses to different types of germs.  Use common sense with this.

And most of all…  Have Fun!  Enjoy winter sports in the brisk weather.  And, give yourself permission to snuggle up with a good cup of tea every once in a while.