BRACE yourselves, we’re in the midst of a cold snap!
Cue the nationwide ‘stay in and stay warm‘ alerts.
It’s an annual ritual, and yet, somehow, we are always caught off-guard.
Parts of the UK reached a bone-chilling -9C overnight, with “hazardous” ice coating the roads and flights cancelled.
The cold weather has triggered a yellow fog warning in Northern Ireland and swathes of southern, central and western England up until this morning.
For most of us, colder weather means scraping ice off the car in the morning and racing home to get cosy after work.
It almost means it’s time to fish out our hats, scarves, and boots.
But winter brings some surprising effects on your body too.
You can’t blame winter entirely for those pesky wrinkles, but the cold weather definitely doesn’t doesn’t help.
According to Dr Michael Tantillo, founder of Clareo Centers for Aesthetic Surgery, in the US, it’s all the little changes that winter brings.
“The issues include the drop in humidity, a slowing of your circulation, reduced cell renewal, exposure to dry winds, increased sun exposure due to reflecting UV rays off snow and ice, changes in dietary habits, and decreased levels of activity,” he said.
And don’t forget those constant temperature swings: from your toasty office to your freezing car.
“This decreases cell renewal and skin circulation, causing our skin to lose its fresh glow,” Dr Michael previously told Readers Digest.
Add it all up, and what do you get? Wrinkles, blemishes, and super dry skin.
Ever noticed your rings feeling a bit loose on chilly days? Well, you’re not imagining it.
Extremities like your fingers and toes tend to swell in warmer weather, but in winter, they tend to do the opposite.
“You tend to see less of that in the winter,” explains Dr Albert Ahn, a clinical instructor of internal medicine at NYU Langone Health, in the US, said.
“Cold weather tends to constrict the blood vessels to preserve body heat and maintain core body temperature,” he told HuffPost.
Less blood flows to your fingers, which can make them feel slightly smaller. Another reason to keep those gloves handy.
Keeping warm over the winter months can help to prevent colds, flu and more serious health problems such as heart attacks, strokes, pneumonia and depression.
As well as heating your home to at least 18C, particularly in the rooms that you regularly use, you should keep your bedroom windows closed at night.
You should also make sure you’re getting all the help that you’re entitled to.
There are grants, benefits and advice available to make your home more energy efficient, improve your heating or help with bills.
Remember that other people, such as older neighbours, friends and family members, may need some extra help over the winter.
Keep in touch with your friends, neighbours and family and ask if they need any practical help, or if they’re feeling unwell.
Make sure they’re stocked up with enough food supplies for a few days, in case they cannot go out.
If they do need to go out in the cold, encourage them to wear shoes with a good grip and a scarf around the mouth to protect them from cold air, and to reduce their risk of chest infections.
Also, make sure they get any prescription medicines before the holiday period starts and if bad weather is forecast.
Some cheap tricks to stay warm at home while keeping costs down include:
Ever heard that working out in the cold burns more calories?
Well, there is some truth to it.
Your body works harder to stay warm, which can boost your metabolism.
Sounds great, right? But don’t get too excited.
“Unless you’re really sweating during your workout, your waistline might not change that much,” Dr Robert Segal, founder of Manhattan Cardiology and LabFinder.com, said.
“Bottom line: it’s not the cold itself, but the extra effort you’re putting in.”
You might have heard men complaining that their members look a little smaller during the winter.
While this sounds a bit a like a myth, Dr Sarah Jarvis previously told Sun Health that “technically, winter penis is a thing”.
It has to do with blood vessels in the extremities contracting when it gets cold in order to redirect blood flow to vital areas like our internal organs.
The GP and clinical director of Patient.info explained: “Basically, in winter your body retains heat by shutting down blood vessels on the surface.
“We know that one of the most obvious places because it has a very large surface area, is the penis.
“We also know that testicles tend to get smaller in cold weather and may well be drawn higher up into the scrotum.
“It is not a physical permanent change, if you warm up then it will go back to normal.”
Writing for The Conversation, Professor and Director of the Clinical Anatomy Learning Centre at Lancaster University, Adam Taylor, said this appendage’s susceptibility to cold elements has to do with its anatomy.
He said the natural response of blood flow being diverted from the penis – which he describes as a sponge – reduces its size “but also keeps the penis closer to the body to prevent it freezing”.
“A similar change happens with the testicles, which, when cold, are drawn closer to the body to keep them warm,” he added.
Despite these protective measures, penises can still suffer tissue damage if exposed to temperatures below zero, Dr Taylor said, citing the example of Finnish cross-country skier Remi Lindholm who suffered frostbite to this member after competing in the 2022 winter Olympics in Beijing.
Dry skin and chapped lips become more of a problem, leaving us reaching for hand cream and lip salve.
As it turns out, that “drought” can affect all parts of the body.
We already know it can affect the penis, but did you know it can also wreak havoc on the vagina.
Mary Burke, a former NHS midwife and senior clinical nurse at the London Bridge Plastic Surgery & Aesthetic Clinic previously told Sun Health women may well suffer more from vaginal dryness, or ‘winter vagina’ during the winter months.
“Dry autumn and winter air depletes moisture from our bodies, leaving our skin dehydrated and cracked, and our sinuses parched,” she said.
“And while it’s an issue few will want to discuss openly, our vaginas can enter ‘drought mode’ during this time, too.
“When we spend a lot of time in air-conditioned rooms, or with the heating on, we’re living in air which carries very little moisture.”
“And the dryness we experience can often extend to every inch of our bodies – including our most private regions.”
If you feel like your lower back pain feels worse when it’s cold outside, you’re not imagining it.
Johns Hopkins Medicine said: “Back pain can indeed be related to barometric pressure and outdoor temperature.
“Changes in pressure can sometimes cause pain in arthritic joints, including the spine.”
It added that your joints react to the environment, with the cold making them stiffer and more likely to suffer injury.
