Winter Health Tips for a Happy and Healthy Lifestyle

Now is the time to focus on winter health tips! While winter is packed full of holiday family, fun, and a bit of insanity, it’s also the season most prominent for increased health risks. Its so tempting to stay snuggled up in a blanket with a hot cup of coffee or tea or to indulge at holiday party. We forget with the hustle and bustle to take care of our health. And with the cold weather we make excuses or are not motivated to get some much-needed exercise. The combination of poor diet, lack of exercise and lack of sunshine during the winter can weaken our immune systems.

Maintaining proper nutrition and exercise, especially during the winter months can help to ward off becoming sick. In the United States approximately 20% of people get winter colds or the flu every year and the percentage seems to be on the rise. We’ve put together some winter health tips to help you stay fit and healthy in the cold months of winter.

Health Tips For The Winter…Or Anytime of The Year!

1. Wash your hands

Although germs can spread anytime of the year, winter is more often considered the season of colds and flu. Germs can spread in the air, or by touch so it’s important that regardless of whether someone shows signs of being sick to always take precautions and by washing your hands frequently. Not only will help you protect your own immune system, but it will help to protect the people around you from passing germs back and forth.

2. Get Plenty of Sleep

Sleep helps us to recover from illness and injury. When you sleep, your brain can heal the body by releasing necessary hormones that encourage repair of our tissue and blood vessels. The hormones can help to reduce inflammation in your body which aids in the healing process. If you are not able to get a good night sleep, try to take rest periods where you can relax and close your eyes. Meditation is a great way to calm your mind and body. This relaxed period causes your body to be calm and lets your internal organs and muscles relax.

3. Vitamin D is essential

During the winter months our bodies become deprived of Vitamin D due to less sunshine. The decrease of vitamin D due to loss of sunshine is referred to as Seasonal Affective Disorder. As a side effect, if you are not getting enough vitamin D, your body may start to show more signs of fatigue, aches, muscle pain and even depression. Be sure to add foods that are rich in Vitamin D such as fatty fish, beef liver, cheese and egg yolks to get the extra vitamin D your body needs.

4. Balanced Diet

Maintaining a balanced diet is essential to good health no matter what time of year it is. However, when its cold outside we tend to crave carbohydrates and foods that we consider to be comfort foods. To curb your craving for carbohydrates, be sure to eat plenty of protein in the mornings. The extra protein will help keep your energy up, and will help your body to reduce cravings.

If you are starting to crave something sweet before lunch, try a snack with natural sugars such as fruit. Light snacks in between meals that are health conscious choices such as fruit, nuts and vegetables can help with cravings.

In addition, try adding Omega 3 fatty acids to your diet which can be found in nuts, seeds and fish. The Omega 3 fatty acids from these foods will help to naturally combat inflammation.

5. Drink Water

Although dehydration isn’t typically associated with winter, you can become dehydrated anytime of the year, regardless of temperature. Be sure to drink plenty of water to combat water loss. Not only will you feel better, but you will notice that your skin is less dry, which is typically what we notice in the winter. Our bodies are made up of over 60% of water so be sure to replenish often. Try following the 8X8 rule, eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day, to stay hydrated.

6. Move your body

Even the most health conscious people can become lax when it comes to working out, especially in the winter months. In the winter we tend to be less active which makes our bodies more prone to injury. With it being cold outside, we become less motivated to move our bodies to exercise and choose to stay indoors where its warm.

The best solution to staying active is to schedule your exercise on a calendar, so that you a plan in place. Planning exercise on a calendar can help you to be more accountable and, can be a beneficial reminder. If you need more accountability, consider inviting a friend to workout with you. Whether you work out at home, go to the gym or just take short walks each day, getting your body moving will help you stay healthy and burn calories and fat. “Nothing burns like the cold.” – George R.R Martin

7. Socialize

Socializing with friends and family can provide many benefits to your health, including reducing depression and increasing self esteem. While most people are on social media daily, it does not replace our physical and mental needs for face to face contact with others. By interacting with people in person, we are often more motivated. Also, research has shown that interaction with others can help to protect our brain from neurological degenerative diseases.

Consider planning a weekly dinner with family or friends, a coffee with business associates, or play dates with your little ones. No matter the occasion, the benefits that socializing has on your health is great!

We hope you enjoyed our winter health tips from Evexia Family Chiropractic. Dr. Perkins, owner at Evexia Family Chiropractic, is a leading chiropractor in the Lees Summit area and is passionate about providing the best care possible to her patients. She takes a preventative and holistic approach to healthcare and offers a variety of services to help patients achieve their goals in health and wellness.

“We focus on the whole person, not just symptoms, to help our patients reduce pain, illness, and to have better overall health”, says Dr. Perkins.

If you are looking to improve your overall health, contact Dr. Perkins and schedule an appointment today.