7 Ways to Stay Healthy This Winter

If you’re like many folks, there’s a point in winter where you hit a wall. The holidays are over, the Super Bowl has been won, and the sun is playing hard to get. Spring seems so very far away.

We all know the traditional ways to stay healthy during winter, take your vitamins, get a flu shot, wash your hands, etc.

I’m going to share some other ideas that may help to lift your mid-winter funk, which could very well translate into a healthier, happier winter for you. Here are seven to get you started, with links to sites with further information. If you have others, please share them below!

1. Join/Start a Club: This doesn’t mean you have to join an expensive gym. You can start your own club that matches your interests, such as a book club, or indoor sports club, such as a darts tournament in your basement. The important thing is to not isolate during the cold months. Carnegie Mellon researchers have found that people with larger social networks produce more antibodies than loners.

2. Take Care of Your Feet: Just because no one is seeing your toes, you don’t have to neglect them in the winter. Being trapped inside shoes and boots can make your feet more vulnerable to fungus. Moisturize daily to keep your skin healthy, and wear moisture-wicking socks.

3. Keep Cozy: Winterize your home, check your heating systems, and keep the gas tank in your car full. Stock extra food in case of power outages. Invest in warm coats, gloves, and boots. Then, actually button your coat, put your hands in the gloves and your feet in the boots.

4. Keep Moving: Work some activity into those long winter days and nights. While you’re watching reality TV or working through your streaming list, you can make circles with your feet or even get out of your chair to march in place. This will keep your hands and feet warm, too. You can also play some music and dance around like a crazy person, which will both warm you and lift your spirits.

5. Weather the Weather: If you’re able, get outside, and walk or run. Install grippers on the bottom of your boots, so you don’t fall on the ice. Even if you just walk to the corner and back, you’ll strengthen your body and lift your mood, which will improve your health. Make a snowman. Even if you don’t have kids, you’ll delight the kiddies who pass by your house or apartment building.

6. Set a Goal: Aim to accomplish a goal by the first day of spring. Make a bucket list and check off some items. Do you have a computer that needs to be cleaned up and disposed of? A closet that needs cleaning? How about all of the paper that’s cluttering your home? Having a goal will make the days go faster, thereby lifting your spirits, and making you healthier.

7. Take a Vacation: It’s not giving up to get out of town. If you have the means, get into some sunny weather for a few days. Find a great deal on plane fares on Google Flights. February is the perfect time for this, especially when the Groundhog says there are six more weeks of winter.

So, there you have it. Seven things you might not have thought of that could keep you healthier this winter. Please let me know in the comments below if you have more to add.

Finally, I leave you with this poem that’s cheered me for many years in the depths of winter and other dark times:

Whether the weather be fine
Or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold
Or whether the weather be hot,
We’ll weather the weather
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not.

–Anonymous

Ann Silverthorn

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