Winter is a time of hot cocoa, countless snowflakes creating white blankets on the ground and holiday celebrations. However, throwing snowballs and taking ski trips also come with the challenge of remaining fit and healthy. Winter certainly prompts various challenges as well — the freezing temperatures, shorter days and vast amounts of snow and sleet can negatively affect your health.
Thankfully, some preparation and intentional adjustments, such as taking a vitamin D supplement and remaining active, can go a long way to keeping you healthy in winter. AAA Central Penn provides three key steps with several health tips for winter wellness. Practice self-care and keep your immune system strong. Exercise regularly, drink plenty of fluids, get enough rest and minimize stress.
1. Boost Your Immunity and Practice Healthy Habits
The new year can welcome new beginnings, but it can also usher in a nasty cold, flu or something worse. Keep illnesses at bay with these tactics to improve your immunity and healthy habits to help fend off sneezing, sniffles and sickness:
- Get your flu shot: The best way to prevent the flu is to get the flu vaccine. Flu season kicks off in October, but flu activity peaks around February. While it is best to get your flu shot early in the season, it is never too late to get vaccinated if the virus is still active.
- Wash your hands and disinfect surfaces: Avoid people you suspect are sick, and wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for 20 seconds. You can also become sick by touching contaminated surfaces, so keep door knobs, countertops and refrigerator handles disinfected at home, school and work.
- Drink plenty of water: During the summer, hot temperatures and constant sweating might prompt us to reach for a cool water bottle. However, staying hydrated in winter is just as important. Watch for the signs of dehydration, especially as you increase indoor temperatures and bundle up heavily when going out.
- Take vitamin supplements: One easy and effective way to stay healthy in winter is by taking a quality multivitamin or supplementing particular vitamins such as highly important vitamin C. During the winter, we tend to see less of the sun, meaning we risk a lack of vitamin D, which is responsible for strengthening bones and assisting nerve functions.
2. Stay Active and Adapt Your Routine Habits
When considering how to stay healthy in the winter, it's important to keep active and implement some healthy habits and routines:
- Keep the air flowing: One simple yet practical place to start is by examining how you can improve your indoor air quality. Poor air quality from inadequate airflow can negatively impact your health, particularly your heart and lungs. Start by inspecting your HVAC system and using cooking vents and bathroom fans.
- Stay active and exercise regularly: When winter rolls in, many of us stay in bed a little longer and spend more time on the couch in the evening. However, regular exercise has several benefits, such as reducing stress and improving your mood. You may want to train indoors during frigid days and plan ahead when exercising outdoors — wear weather-appropriate clothing and check forecasts beforehand.
- Eat a healthy diet: You should eat a healthy diet year-round for several reasons. However, we are often tempted to indulge in comfort food in winter. It is certainly good to treat ourselves occasionally. However, a proper diet in winter helps boost our immune system, mitigate excessive weight gain, prevent various diseases and ensure our bodies function properly.
- Get enough quality sleep: Not getting enough sleep impacts your immune system, puts you at a higher risk of illness and affects how long you take to recover from sickness. People who lack sleep are also at risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and other conditions. Additionally, we might need more sleep in winter, so adjust your schedule to ensure you stay adequately rested.
- Consider driving conditions: Before heading out on the roads this winter, work through steps to winterize your car and prepare for a winter car emergency to ensure you stay as safe as possible. With more than 116,800 people injured in snow-related vehicle accidents yearly, you should consider the conditions and choose when to drive and when to stay home. If you go out, please drive responsibly and have all the necessary equipment, such as an ice scraper and jumper cables.
3. Focus on Your Mental Health
The winter months mean less sunlight and vitamin D, increased time spent indoors and possibly less time spent being active. These can contribute to irritability, tiredness, low energy and even drastic mood changes. That is why it is essential to prioritize your mental health — particularly if you are affected by existing medical conditions such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), bipolar disorder or major depression.
Add the following health tips for winter to your mental health care:
- Schedule time to meet with others: We are social creatures, and for the vast majority, spending time with other people is crucial to our health and well-being — even helping prevent serious illness. So avoid isolating yourself this winter and find ways to meet up and stay in contact with friends and family.
- Take breaks from electronic devices: Technology has crept into every aspect of our lives and offers numerous benefits. However, you may want to limit screen time this winter to help reduce stress, anxiety, loneliness and possible feelings of jealousy. In addition, common tech devices can negatively affect your emotional stability, memory, eyes and back.
- Find time to relax, treat yourself or enjoy a hobby: We all need a chance to unwind and slow down once in a while, and it is a good idea to set aside time to read a new book, sit by the fireplace, learn that new skill or take an extra long bath.
- Reduce your stress levels: This is one significant way to stay healthy in winter. This time of year is often hectic and stressful, and you might not notice the symptoms of stress that can adversely affect your mood, mental health and physical state. Stress can have long-term adverse effects, so assess situations and take care of yourself by stepping back momentarily and addressing the root cause or seeking ways to manage your stress.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with mental health challenges or at risk of harm, please get in touch with your nearest medical care professional for help. Also, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) offers the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline to assist those in need.
Take Care This Winter With the Help of AAA Central Penn
Although it is wise to have individual and family health insurance year-round, winter months tend to highlight its importance since you are more likely to get ill during the winter months. This means you are likely to visit the doctor and need medication more often than throughout the rest of the year — a possibly considerable expense without medical coverage.
In addition to health insurance, we also offer a broad range of membership benefits, including extensive discounts. AAA members can use GoodRx to save up to 85% on prescription drugs. GoodRx is accepted at over 70,000 U.S. pharmacies and may even beat your insurance co-pay!
Get ready for winter with AAA, and enjoy our renowned 24/7 roadside assistance and numerous other perks you receive when you sign up for a membership today!
