Adjusting to Winter: 6 Tips to Stay Healthy in the Cold
Winter can be hard in the temperate zone. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who feels this way. I get soft in the luxury of summer sun, going out the door wearing whatever I feel like, taking a lazy bike ride to work, strolling through a park on my way to somewhere, or nowhere, with so much vibrant life all around. But in time, that ease gives way as life cycles into death and hibernation.
I love autumn for the turn inward, reaping all that was sown in summer and drawing it within, integrating a new sense of self. But sometimes autumn hits hard and strong winds rush the leaves off the trees. When the weather decides to turn towards winter, there is nothing to do but accept the change and follow its cue.
For some people, the reduced light and cold air in winter triggers clinical depression and other mood disorders. 2-6% of Canadians experience seasonal affective disorder, which can be a debilitating condition. Another 15% experience milder seasonal depression.
The seasonal shift is nothing new, and our ancestors passed on wisdom to help us stay healthy and sane through the darkest, coldest time of year. The question is whether we are willing to change our habits when everything in the natural environment around us changes. I struggle with this a lot. Winter demands the most dramatic change in my behavior, asking me to give up the late nights and revelry of warmer times.
I know that listening to the change means I am less likely to catch colds, feel exhausted, and have migraines flare up in the spring. Adapting habits and sacrificing short-term pleasures is difficult, but life has its seasons too, and hopefully I’ll be wiser after a few more winters.
The Neijing, a canonical text in East Asian medicine, is filled with practical advice to prevent illness and promote longevity. It is not always what we want to hear, but the authors aren’t playing around. If you want to live to be 120-years-old and healthy to the end, then listen up. (120 years is the Daoist standard; recent research caps our lifespan at an average 115 years.)
In Chinese medical theory, winter is all about the kidneys. The so-called “kidney system” includes the two kidney organs, the adrenal glands that sit on top of the kidneys, the thyroid, the reproductive organs, the bones, certain responsibilities of the brain and central nervous system, and the psychological aspect of will power (in a deep, fundamental sense of the will to live). These aspects are closely connected through physiology, and imbalance in one part of the system can cause or reflect illness in the other parts.
The kidneys are said to hold the Fire of Life itself. They are the root of metabolism (think: adrenal glands and thyroid function combined) and ancestral inheritance (a concept similar to genetic inheritance and epigenetic expression). They hold and protect the will to live. And they are readily injured by cold and overwork. Winter wellness relies on taking care of this root system.
“During the winter months all things in nature wither, hide, return home, and enter a resting period, just as lakes and rivers freeze and snow falls. This is a time when yin dominates yang.”
“The philosophy of the winter season is one of conservation and storage”
- Huangdi Neijing Suwen, Chapter 2: ”The Art of Life Through the Four Seasons”, trans. Maoshing Ni
Here’s what the Neijing suggests to stay healthy through the winter and establish good health through the year ahead.
Sage Advice on How to Hibernate
1) Go to bed early and get up with the late sunrise.
Recover from the late nights and early mornings of summer with a little extra rest in winter. Beyond the natural cue from the sun telling us to sleep more, winter life simply takes more work. Keeping yourself warm, getting around in the snow and ice, cooking extra hearty food—we spend more energy on basic survival in winter, so the extra rest is needed.
2) Keep your mind quiet and directed inwards.
This helps align our mental experience with our physical environment. A basic principle of classical East Asian medicine is the integration of body, mind and environment. Fighting against natural seasonal changes creates stress in the body, mind or both. But when the three are harmonized, you will feel more resilient to the cold weather.
3) Avoid sweating and then being exposed to cold air with your pores still open.
Cold air enters hits your skin, weakens your immune system and makes you more susceptible to catching a cold. The back of the neck is especially susceptible to the cold, so always wear a scarf outside!
*Cold shocks like cold water plunges or jumping in the snow after hot sauna can be a beneficial, but as a daily practice or for certain people, it is likely to be too much stress for the body. Chinese medicine focuses on the regular habits that promote wellness, the things we do day in and day out to nourish ourselves. Occasional breaks from the routine are part of a healthy lifestyle, but should be done carefully.
4) Have less sex.
Rooted in naturalist philosophy, Chinese medicine is generally very sex positive. But in winter, the name of the game is conservation. The reproductive organs are part of the kidney system in classical Chinese physiology, which means that having sex too often in winter is depleting. Save your sexual adventures for summer.
5) Conserve your energy and try not to overexert yourself.
Take it easy, seek quiet and calm, and don’t tackle many new projects. Winter is a ideal time for reflection, introspection, and spiritual pursuits. Spend more time on your own and with close family and friends to nurture the small fire.
6) Eat with the season.
This one is not part of this specific chapter of the Neijing, but the yangsheng literature is saturated with dietary recommendations. You can balance the winter cold with warming foods: lots of soups, stews, hearty dishes with meat or grains. Vegetables tend to be more cooling than meats, but cooked right—slow and long with warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, dried ginger, and black pepper—a vegan diet can fit right into winter cuisine.
Gently integrate these ideas into your lifestyle. Unless current habits are quickly driving you towards illness and a collapse of your body’s resources, sudden change is not the best approach for most of us. Take it easy and remember to let it breathe. Listen to your body and do what feels natural to you.
And most importantly, take an occasional afternoon for sledding and a snowball fight. Playing in the snow on Sunday makes it so much easier when you have to trudge through slush on Monday.
Cover photo Tim Stief on Unsplash
