Activity levels in Britain fall in winter, when days are short, cold and wet. Keeping up exercise through the darker months maintains fitness, helps to control weight, and benefits mood and sleep at the time of year when both tend to suffer.
Why it is harder
Darkness before and after work removes the easiest times to go out. Cold and rain make starting unattractive, and the wish to stay warm indoors is strong. Low mood is commoner in winter, and for some people amounts to seasonal affective disorder; see seasonal affective disorder. Exercise outdoors in daylight is one of the things that helps.
Using the daylight
- A walk or run at lunchtime catches the light on working days.
- Longer outdoor sessions are kept for weekends.
- Walking or cycling part of the journey to work adds activity without needing extra time.
Dressing for cold
- Several thin layers trap heat and can be removed as the body warms: a base layer that carries sweat away from the skin, an insulating layer, and a windproof or waterproof shell.
- Cotton next to the skin stays wet and cold.
- A hat and gloves make a large difference, since the hands, ears and head lose heat fast.
- The right amount of clothing feels slightly cool for the first few minutes.
- Wet clothes are changed promptly afterwards.
Safety in the dark and on ice
- Reflective clothing and a light, or a head torch, are worn after dark, on well-lit, familiar routes.
- Cyclists need working front and rear lights by law.
- Shoes with a good grip are worn on wet leaves, frost and ice, and icy days are a reason to exercise indoors.
- Someone is told the route and expected time of return.
- A longer warm-up is needed in the cold, starting indoors.
Cold air can trigger symptoms in people with asthma and angina. A scarf over the mouth warms the air, reliever inhalers are carried, and anyone with a heart or lung condition is advised to ask their doctor about exercising in very cold weather.
Indoors
- Swimming pools and leisure centres.
- Gym sessions and classes, including pay-as-you-go.
- Indoor sports: badminton, squash, five-a-side football, climbing walls.
- Dance, yoga and Pilates classes.
- Exercise at home, using online videos, a skipping rope, body-weight circuits or the stairs.
Keeping going
- A fixed time in the diary, treated as an appointment.
- An arrangement with a friend, a class or a club, which makes it harder to drop out.
- Kit laid out the night before.
- A goal for the spring, such as an organised walk, run or ride.
- Shorter sessions on bad days. Ten minutes is better than nothing and often turns into more.
- A record of what has been done.
Illness is commoner in winter. Exercise is paused during a fever or a chest infection and resumed gently afterwards; with a simple head cold, easy exercise does no harm. Ideas for fitting activity into a full day are given under finding time to exercise.