But, tackled wisely, exposure to chillier temperatures can actually have a number of surprising benefits – stimulating a healthy immune response and having a positive influence on metabolism, as well as improving sleep and mood.
“When we’re exposed to low temperatures, our bodies go into a state of stress which activates a variety of defence mechanisms within both our innate and adaptive immune systems,” explains Professor Lindsy Kass, a senior research fellow and physiologist at the University of Hertfordshire.
Cold temperatures can also stimulate the production of heat shock proteins and white blood cells, which fight infection. “These heat shock proteins help to repair damaged proteins and prevent cell death, so by inducing their production, cold exposure can enhance the overall effectiveness of the immune system,” adds Kass. “Meanwhile, this increase in white blood cell production is part of the body’s natural response to stress and helps to strengthen the immune system.”
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Read More“As humans we have become rather too comfortable – we’ve become what I call ‘thermostatic’,” he says. “Our ability to control our environments has meant we live day-to-day without any perturbations of our temperature system. But you know the old adage, ‘Use it or lose it?’ it may apply just as much to our thermoregulatory systems as to exercise – in order to maintain our functionality, we must turn the system on now and again.”
One adaptation our bodies make to cold temperatures is what’s known as “brown fat” – a type of fat which actually produces heat. Babies have more of it than adults, and use it to regulate their body temperatures, but as we age, it drops away (possibly because our thermoregulation systems mature and it is no longer needed as much, but perhaps partly, too, because we no longer face extremes of temperature often in centrally-heated modern life).
“One study even found that those with more brown fat had a lower risk of cardiometabolic disease. Although exposure to cold increases the activity of brown fat, it is not clear to what degree it can create more of it, though research is ongoing,” says Kass.
But over time, once you become “used” to being in the cold, these reactions will lessen. This is a good thing for your comfort levels, as you won’t perceive yourself to be cold, but do be careful, says Tipton, as that doesn’t mean you aren’t cold or that your core temperature isn’t dropping – and you’ll be in just as much danger of hypothermia or other ill effects of low temperature.
This is partly because exposure to outdoor light in the daytime helps us to sleep better at night – as does a slightly colder bedroom. Between 14°C and 17°C is optimum, according to several studies.
While exercising in extreme cold can be bad for performance, the ideal temperature for many types of exercise is around 11°C, says Tipton. This is the temperature on a cold day in an unheated gym, or the garage where you keep your exercise bike.
So rather than shying away from the cold snap, could this become the first winter you make the most of it?
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