1 Dec 2025

5 Tips to Improve Winter Health

Osvaldo Nuñez

We’ve reached the last month of the year, when winter is finally getting into full swing. From the hustle and bustle of prepping for the holidays, to the lull after New Years, there’s a lot to enjoy but also a lot to think about in terms of your health.

Fortunately, our comprehensive care team has put together tips from each of their five specialties to help you maximize your wellbeing and stay feeling your best all the way into January.
Take a look for yourself, and if you want to dive deeper on any of these tips, reach out to your clinicians through the patient portal and they can give you even more insight.

Tip 1: Body
Do an End-of-Year Check In

After a year of school schedules, summer activities, holiday planning, and life’s unexpected detours, it’s common to come into the end of the year with at least a few aches, pains, and parts of our health that we’ve been ignoring while busy doing other things.

Our head physician, Dr. Carl Lang, suggests this is a perfect time of year to find some time to slow down and check in on how you’ve felt over the past year, physically and mentally. Take note of any injuries you haven’t been seen for, questions you haven’t gotten answered, or concerns you might be carrying into the new year, and schedule an appointment with your physician in January to go over all of them and start the year on the right note.

Tip 2: Mind
Get Outside in the Morning

We’re into that time of year when Daylight Savings Time is over, the temperatures are truly getting cold, and the Chicago area is often overcast and gray. With this combination of factors, it’s not uncommon for people to feel their mood and energy levels dip during the winter, but there are things we can do to combat that.

One of the simplest, which our Doctor of Psychology Paul Smiley likes to recommend, is to make sure you get outside and spend time in sunlight as early as you can each day. It doesn’t matter if it’s cloudy outside, just the act of experiencing sunlight directly can help to align your circadian rhythms, boost your energy, and also have benefits for your mood. And if you feel like you’re experiencing seasonal depression, schedule an appointment to talk to your True Health psychologist and we can help you manage it.

Tip 3: Movement
Warm Up for Daily Activities

We’ve written before about how the cold of winter makes our muscles stiffer and more prone to injury. That’s why warming up before exercise is so important in the winter months. But in December, warming up becomes important even when you’re not working out. From preparing for the holidays, to the arrival of snow, this part of December often has us performing activities that we’re not acclimated to yet.

Whether it’s straining to hang decorations, shoveling the first heavy snow of the year, or crouching to retrieve luggage from storage, there are a host of ways to tweak muscles that can sideline you suddenly. That’s why our lead physical therapist, David Rivera, recommends spending some time warming up properly before doing anything physical this winter: even if it’s as simple as moving a pile of gifts. Remember, it’s always simpler to prevent injuries than to heal from them.

Tip 4: Nutrition
Focus on Intentions, Not Rules

With the arrival of the December holidays, all the classic seasonal foods come out that can sometimes present a conundrum for people focusing on their nutrition. Should you stick to macros at family gatherings? Should you swear off sugar, or participate in the holiday cookie exchange?

Fortunately, our Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Jessica Kruzan is here to put your mind at ease. Rather than focusing on strict rules, like eliminating types of foods, set broad intentions that focus on overall health this month. Simple and positive goals, like including fruits or veggies into every meal, can help you keep your nutrition balanced even while letting you enjoy all the best parts of the season with your friends and family.

Tip 5: Fitness
Put Extra Focus on Hydration

Dehydration is something most people think of in summer, when the temperatures are high and we feel like we sweat the most. But in reality, it may be even easier to get dehydrated in winter. The air is dryer, which means we lose more moisture to the air, and we simply don’t feel the classic signs that remind us to drink water. In fact, some studies have shown our thirst can diminish by up to 40% in colder weather.

To combat this, and keep your fitness optimal this month, focus on your hydration to keep performing your best. Athletic performance can be impacted by dehydration of as little as 2%, so by the time you feel thirsty in the winter, your workout already may be suffering. By hydrating before your workouts, and proactively during, you can keep your strength and stamina right where you want them.