How winter affects your health

We notice the winter weather in small ways, with dry lips, runny noses and aching joints. These are just small signs of our bodies adapting to the cold temperatures and winter conditions. The cold weather can significantly affect the human body, but lower temperatures can affect you more, if you are an older person or if you have certain long-term health conditions. Let’s take a look at how the winter months can affect your health and some top tips to stay healthy during this time.

📝 What happens to your body during cold conditions?

Low temperatures in winter give rise to several things:

• Cold conditions allow some viruses to survive longer
• The immune system needs to work harder to fight off illnesses
• During winter we spend more time with people indoors making it a perfect environment to spread germs and catch colds
• Some long-term health conditions become harder to manage

While people tend to focus on common conditions like a blocked or runny nose, a sore throat or a headache, there are lesser-known health risks that are associated with winter. Let’s take a look at how cold weather affects some of these health problems.

♥️ Heart disease

Our bodies are designed to keep our body temperature steady. When there is a drop in temperature, the heart needs to work harder to maintain its core temperature. Cold weather triggers the narrowing of blood vessels (vasoconstriction) reducing blood flow to the skin, fingers and feet. This also makes the blood more prone to clotting and raises your blood pressure and heart rate. This is a perfectly normal response to the cold, but it can put additional strain on the heart. It is especially problematic in people who have cardiovascular conditions, as it increases their risk of heart attacks.

Even the simple act of breathing in cold air can affect the heart. Inhaling chilly air can decrease blood flow to the heart, especially in individuals with blocked coronary arteries.

This is why individuals with heart conditions need to be cautious during winter. Here are some tips:

• Layer clothing, to trap heat and protect your body from the cold
• Avoid activities that cause physical stress as it can put extra strain on your heart
• Avoid the outdoors during severe weather conditions, such as extreme cold or heavy snowfall

😮‍💨 Lung conditions

Cold air is often dry air which is particularly irritating for those with chronic lung conditions. It can be a significant trigger for symptoms of COPD and asthma causing symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath.

The cold air outside can cause:

• The airways to swell up, making them narrower for air to pass
• The muscles in the body to tighten up and clamp down, also preventing air from passing through

Top tip

• Use a scarf or ski mask to cover your nose and mouth when outdoors

Even for those without pre-existing respiratory conditions, cold air can cause bronchial irritation, leading to coughing and discomfort in the lungs.

🩻 Arthritis

Cold temperatures can slow your blood circulation, increase pain sensitivity levels and cause muscle spasms, making aches and pains worse. Often, as temperatures drop, the amount of air pressure in the atmosphere changes as well and joints can react to this. The pressure drop can cause muscles and tendons in the body to expand adding pressure to an already painful joint.

A hot water bottle or an electric blanket can help you to keep warm.

📝 Seasonal affective disorder

According to NHS figures from 2023, 3% of the population is diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder, which affects people in the autumn and winter months. During the colder months, the darker shorter days can reduce energy levels and the motivation to get out, which leads to symptoms of depression such as:

• Low mood
• Irritability
• Tearfulness
• A loss of pleasure in everyday activities
• Reduced libido

During winter the number of hours of sunlight falls significantly and we experience a fall in vitamin D levels. Vitamin D is known as the “sunshine vitamin” because our bodies produce it in response to sun exposure. It helps our bodies to produce the neurotransmitter serotonin, which influences our mood. Vitamin D is also key to the production of melatonin, the hormone responsible for regulating sleep. It also plays a role in supporting immune function and reducing the risk of infections. Therefore when there is a dip in vitamin D during this time of year, people find it challenging and may experience low mood, sleep disruption and a decline in mental health.

Winter also brings with it the stress of higher heating bills and the need for winter clothing which can add significantly to mental health challenges.

📝 Eczema and other skin conditions

Cold temperatures outdoors often mean low humidity and dry air. Indoors we are battling with indoor heating systems that often produce hot air that is also extremely dry. Hot showers in the winter can further contribute to skin dryness and itchiness. Dryness is often a trigger for skin conditions like psoriasis and eczema.

When moving from cold outdoor air to warm indoor air the blood vessels in the skin quickly expand and contract to adjust to the temperature change. This can cause redness and inflammation in the skin.

🥶 What other health problems arise in the cold?

Injuries from falls

According to the NHS website, around 1 in 3 adults over 65 and half of people over 80 will have at least one fall a year. The ageing process adds to the risk of falling due to a decline in balance and sight problems.

Icy conditions, snow and falling leaves in winter can make falling easier. Muscles can stiffen up, reducing flexibility and big bulky clothing can put you off balance, putting you at risk for fractures.

Wearing footwear with slip-resistant soles, avoiding slippery surfaces, making use of handrails, and gritting surfaces with salt are some ways to help minimise falls.

Hypothermia

Hypothermia occurs when the body’s temperature falls below 35 °C. The body aims to keep a core temperature of around 37 °C for humans. It is often imagined that a person needs to be in sub-zero temperatures to risk hypothermia, but it only requires the temperature to be less than body temperature. In the elderly, the ageing process changes the body:

• The ability to detect body temperature changes due to the loss of nerve endings to the skin
• Reduced body fat provides less insulation from cold temperatures
• Lower metabolic rate therefore less heat is generated

Other factors may put the elderly at risk of hypothermia, such as reluctantly turning on the heating due to financial pressures and being socially isolated, spending long periods alone with no one noticing their health deteriorate. Be sure to check in with elderly relatives during cold weather, since they may have more difficulty recognising these issues.

Frostbite

Frostbite typically affects the nose, ears, cheeks, chin, fingers, or toes. This condition occurs when the skin and underlying tissues freeze by narrowing blood vessels due to exposure to extremely cold temperatures. This results in early stages of frostnip (skin is cold, white and numb), then the intermediate stage (more tissue damage, hard frozen top layers of skin) and then the advanced stage (skin is blue, and blotchy and tissue beneath is hard).

📝 Conclusion

Winter brings a unique set of challenges to our physical and mental well-being. If you have a chronic medical condition, work with a healthcare provider to manage your symptoms, and talk to them about how best to navigate cold weather triggers during the winter months.

Sources

• Cold weather and your lungs – Asthma + Lung UK
• Illnesses caused by cold weather – Age UK
• Will cold weather affect my heart condition? Tips for staying safe and warm – BHF
• How your body copes with cold weather – UK Health Security Agency
• How cold weather affects your health – Met Office
• Frostbite – NHS
• Falls – NHS