winter health hacks

Jul 18
2022

How To Stay Healthy In Winter | 5 Ways The Body Changes 🥶

In today’s episode I take you 5 top changes that can happen to the body and the ways to help combat them.

DRY SKIN

For most of us this happens due to a number of factors, the drop in temperature, drop in humidity and indoor heating all lead to the degradation of the skin barrier. The net result? Dry itchy flaky skin.

The cold weather also exacerbates those with exisiting skin conditions such as eczema - a condition causing red, itchy irritate skin. The best solution to mitigate this is to keep the temperature indoors at a lower setting so that skin can acclimatise better.

Failing these methods, it’s very important to keep your skin hydrated and moisturised throughout the winter season. Using a non fragranced light moisturiser that is not too oily, regularly, helps to maintain moisture.

JOINT ACHES

Those who suffer with arthritic joints tend to feel they have more symptoms or flare ups in the winter months. Firstly during the cooler climates, air pressure also drops, it is thought that the muscles and tendons that surround the joints expand and contract which causes pain. Secondly, the fluid within the joints is thicker during the colder weather leading to stiffer joints.

A few ways to help combat this include, keeping your joints warm by wrapping up, taking warm showers, performing gentle exercises, if you have a warm pool locally, this can also help and finally if you are still struggling, be sure to speak with your medical doctor.

RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

During the colder climates, viruses tend to be more stable in the air and stay around for longer in colder and dry climates.

Those with certain respiratory conditions such as asthma also struggle with breathing during the colder weather. This is due to the cold air leading to dryness in the airways and tightening the muscles around the airways. To help with this, doctors will advise their patients to use their preventer inhaler to avoid any complications with breathing. The addition of wearing a scarf around the mouth and nose also helps to maintain the humidity and can help with breathing.

MENTAL HEALTH

If you feel lazy in the winter and struggle to find motivation, rest assured you are not alone. This typically can occur due to having shorter days and so less sunlight. Our internal body clock relies on sunlight and a reduction of this can cause a decline in serotonin - our happy hormone. This can lead to a condition known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) which typically causes people to feel sluggish, low in mood, unmotivated, trouble sleeping and changes in appetite. To help combat this, try to ensure you have a regular sleep pattern, get as much sunlight as you can UV permitting and most importantly try to keep up regular exercise. This could be as simple as going for a walk around the block or a quick gym session.

CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING

Finally, during the winter season we all crank up the heating. If you use a gas fuel system then you could be at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. This is an odourless gas that if exposed to for long periods of time can lead to feeling unwell and even death. If you use a gas fuel heater be sure to have it checked regularly so it is compliant with local regulations, consider investing in a carbon monoxide monitor, keep a window open to ensure fresh air ventilation and do not use it for long periods over night and finally if you have any concerns about it, stop using it until it is checked out by a professional.

CHAPTERS

0.07 Introduction

0:20 Skin

4:40 Joints

6:18 Lungs

8:04 Mental Health

9:45 Carbon Monoxide

10:52 Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this video and as always if you have any questions or comments please drop me in a line below.

COMPANION VIDEOS

Fighting Flu: https://youtu.be/MHmJRJFNnJk

Immune Boosting Foods: https://youtu.be/Fu7tK5kHfn4