Stay healthy this winter with 6 tips on boosting immunity and well-being
With winter close upon us, it’s easy to stay busy with holiday planning. But amid all the celebrating, make sure to take care of your health, too.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, wintertime can be a blow to your health. You could easily catch the common cold, the flu, pneumonia and much more during that time of year.
Plus, the cold weather and dark hours can impact your mental health for the worse.
If you want to stay healthy — both mentally and physically — this winter, try these tips.
How can I improve my health in the winter? Try these 6 healthy habits
1. Boost your immunity in winter
There’s a reason we get sick in winter — it’s germ season. Luckily, there are steps you can start taking now to ensure that you stay healthy.
According to Harvard Health, “Your first line of defense is to choose a healthy lifestyle.” You can boost your immune system by:
- Eating a healthy, balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables.
- Getting enough sleep.
- Keeping your stress levels low.
- Staying up-to-date on your vaccinations.
- Exercising at least three times a week.
- Washing your hands regularly.
Additionally, experts at Bastyr University recommend upping your vitamin intake. They recommend incorporating vitamins A, C, D and zinc into your diet.
2. Stay active in cold weather
When it’s dark and cold outside, the last thing you want to do is leave your house for a run or to go to the gym.
But exercising is good for your mental health — which is often impacted by seasonal affective disorder in the winter.
According to the Mental Health Foundation, exercise helps the body regulate stress levels, mood and self-esteem, and it can also help with depression, anxiety and dementia and cognitive decline in the elderly.
So how can you work out in the winter? Here are some tips:
- Start small: It can be hard to be motivated to workout when it’s so cold and dark outside. Start by creating small, realistic goals, like working out for 10 minutes a day or getting 1,000 extra steps in. Keep on building from there, and by January, you might have a solid, consistent workout routine.
- Workout at home: There are plenty of YouTube videos, apps, subscription services and more that offer a variety of workouts you can do at home. Just make sure that you have the equipment you need, such as a yoga mat, resistance bands, dumbbells and more.
- Go on walks — inside: If you’re an avid walker, you know how difficult walking in the winter can be. On days that are particularly snowing, try going for a walk inside. You can go to your local mall to get your steps in, walk around the track at your gym or get an elliptical, treadmill or stepper.
- Enlist your friends: If you do prefer to workout outside or go to the gym, get some friends to come along. Working out with friends can make it more fun, and you can count on your friends to hold you accountable.
3. Try these winter sleep tips
Sleep is imperative to staying healthy and fighting off germs. And, according to Healthline, we need more sleep that usual in the winter.
As Healthline reported, a study published in “Frontiers in Neuroscience” in 2023 found “that humans experience longer REM sleep in winter than summer — even in artificially lit urban areas — and less deep sleep in autumn.”
According to researchers from Charité Medical University of Berlin, “human body clocks are set by the sun and changing day length and light exposure over the course of the year can affect our sleep duration and quality.”
Nicole Eichelberger, an American Board of Sleep Medicine certified sleep expert, gave Healthline a few tips on how to get better sleep:
- Go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day.
- Keep your room “cool, dark and quiet” and sleep on “comfortable bedding and a supportive mattress.”
- Avoid drinking alcohol and caffeine.
- Practice relaxation exercises before bed, like “meditation, deep breathing or yoga.”
4. Winter vitamin D sources
According Baylor College of Medicine, vitamin D is crucial to your “overall health” — but is difficult to absorb in the fall and winter.
Mike Ren, assistant professor at the school, said, “You need the sun high in the sky, not when it’s rising or about to set, for your body to effectively absorb sunlight to absorb the vitamin D.”
With the darker months upon us, it’ll be harder than ever to get the recommended 800 international units of vitamin D per day — which amounts to about 15 to 30 minutes of sun exposure, according to Baylor College of Medicine.
According to Health.com, you can start taking a vitamin D supplement in the winter — but experts recommend that you consult with your doctor before you do.
And while vitamin D isn’t commonly found in food, there are a few foods you can incorporate into your diet to increase your vitamin D intake. Those foods are, according to Health.com:
- Fatty fish
- Fish liver oils
- Mushrooms
- Egg yolks
- Cheese
- Beef liver
5. Have a winter skincare routine
According to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, “Cold air and low humidity can cause dry, itchy skin.”
During wintertime, you might want to prioritize an especially moisturizing skincare routine to keep your skin healthy and happy.
Here are a few things you can do to manage your dry skin:
- Use a humidifier in your room.
- Put lotion on as soon as you get out of the shower or bath, and apply lotion to your hands multiple times a day.
- Prioritize skincare products with hyaluronic acid — and apply them to damp skin, recommends Glamour Magazine UK.
- Keep a moisturizing lip balm on-hand at all times.
- Don’t over-cleanse your face.
6. Take care of your mental health
It’s not unusual to feel blue around wintertime. In fact, it has an official name — seasonal affective disorder.
“(SAD is a) well-defined clinical diagnosis that’s related to the shortening of daylight hours,” Dr. Matthew Rudorfer, a mental health expert at National Institute of Health, said. “It interferes with daily functioning over a significant period of time.”
If you find yourself suffering from SAD each winter, there are a few things you can start doing during the fall that could help, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine:
- Get professional help: Seek the guidance of a licensed healthcare provider.
- Light therapy: If you can, try to spend as much time close to sunlight — sitting by a window or going outside, if weather permits — as you can. If you’re still not getting enough sunlight, you can try using a SAD therapy lamp.
- Spend time with others: It’s easy to isolate yourself in the winter, but spending too much time alone can be detrimental to your mental health. Try to surround yourself with loving family and friends, and confide in them about how you’re feeling.
- Set realistic, attainable goals: Don’t overwhelm yourself by taking on more than you can handle. Johns Hopkins Medicine suggests, “Break large tasks into small ones, set priorities, and do what you can as you can.”
- Get exercise: Try to get in regular exercise when you can. You can start small, like going on a walk or doing yoga, and work your way up from there.
- Keep a nutritious diet: According to the article, try to eat “healthy, well-balanced meals.”
