Winter wellness: how to keep healthy and warm

What's on this page

• Keep up with your medication
• Protect yourself from flu
• Stay comfortably warm
• Fuel your body with tasty, healthy food
• Keep moving
• Look after your mood and mental health
• Stay in touch with your GP
• "How I get through winter with a heart condition" - Rachel's top tips

Keep up with your medication

Your heart needs to work much harder in colder temperatures to keep blood pumping around your body. If your heart health and underlying conditions are well managed, you’re less likely to have problems if you do get a cold as the cool weather sets in. An important way to support your heart health is by taking your medication on time. Keeping to a schedule, setting reminders and getting a repeat prescription can help you to keep on top of your routine.

There are plenty of online pharmacies registered with the NHS that offer a free repeat prescription service. Pharmacy2u and PillTime are just some of the handy services that allow you to reorder medication online and get reminders as well as free deliveries.

• Learn about the latest research on how cold weather affects your heart
• Get more information on ordering repeat prescriptions online

Protect yourself from flu and Covid

Staying free of the flu means you can get on with your life, rather than battling illness over winter. Flu can make you seriously ill, and you are more at risk if you are older or have a heart or circulatory condition. You can get the free NHS flu jab if you’re over 50 or have certain long-term conditions, such as heart disease.

Staying up-to-date with your Covid booster vaccines is also important ahead of winter, with both Covid-19 and flu circulating at once. Vaccination is the best form of protection we have against these viruses.

• Get more information on the flu jab or the Covid-19 booster programme

Stay comfortably warm

Stay indoors if the weather gets really cold. Try to keep the main room that you spend time in warm, heating it to a comfortable temperature if you can. Hot water bottles, electric blankets and heated throws can help you stay warm at night or when you're sitting still in the daytime, and are usually cheaper to run than turning up the thermostat

If you’re indoors more than usual, stay as active as you can. It’s a good idea to get up and move around every hour, which will boost your mood and your energy levels. If you do go out, wear plenty of warm layers - don’t forget to take a hat and gloves to keep your head and hands warm.

• Find out 6 budget-friendly ways to keep warm
• Get tips for staying active indoors 

Fuel your body with tasty, healthy food

It's common to crave comfort food during the winter months - but it’s all about balance when it comes to your diet. This is just as true around this time of year. While heavy, stodgy dishes might be tempting during the winter weather, it's important to fuel your body with the food it needs to stay healthy.

Try healthy versions of your favourite comfort foods and don’t forget to serve them with a good helping of fruit and vegetables. It’s as important as ever to eat your 5-a-day. The vitamins and minerals in fruit and vegetables will help to support your immune system, which will help you to fight off colds.

Try these simple, warming winter dishes which are packed with nutrients and delicious flavour:

• Chicken and chestnut mushroom pasta bake
• Roasted tomato and lentil soup
• Mushroom stew
• Carrot and coriander soup

Use our recipe finder to find more inspiration for lunch or dinner - you can even filter by cuisine to find a dish that suits you!

We also know that eating well and making healthy choices can feel like a challenge when food costs are high. Read our tips for eating healthy on a tight budget and get ideas for affordable ways to get your 5-a-day, as well as how to avoid waste and find energy-efficient ways of cooking.

You can also try our 7 days of healthy meals on a budget - a week's worth of nutritious, balanced meals and snacks for under £55 for two people, planned by our expert dietitian.

Keep moving

Being overweight puts strain on your body, heart and immune system and may make you less able to fight infections. It also puts you more at risk of complications should you catch coronavirus.

Exercising can be harder in the winter as the dark evenings and rainy weather can make us feel less motivated. However, there are lots of activities you can do indoors instead.   

Here are some easy ideas to get you started:

• Struggle to find the time for exercise? Try our 10-minute living room workout for a quick way to get moving. 
• If you have problems walking or standing, we have some chair based exercises you can try. 
• If you don’t mind getting out and about, wrap up and go for an atmospheric winter walk whilst topping up your vitamin D.

For more information read our tips on how to avoid winter weight gain.

Look after your mood and mental health

Shorter days, darker nights and more time indoors can make us feel low. The lack of sunlight also means that many of us aren’t getting the right amount of Vitamin D, which can also contribute to low mood. It’s recommended that we all consider taking a 10 microgram Vitamin D supplement in autumn and winter. This is even more important if you don’t go outside very much or if you cover most of your skin.

• Read more about vitamin D and your heart.

Being active and keeping in touch with friends and family can help improve your mood. Many people also find practicing mindfulness or meditation useful - why not try putting 10 minutes a day in your diary?

• Read more about mindfulness and meditation and try our six-minute meditation.

Managing stress is particularly important in the winter, as too much can affect how our immune system works. Hormones from stress may suppress immune function and increase blood pressure. It might also lead to us reaching for sugary snacks and drinking too much alcohol which will impact your overall mood. Have a look at our stress page for ideas on how to manage this.

We have lots of information on emotional wellbeing and there is lots of support available for those who need it.

Stay in touch with your GP

If you have any concerns or simply want to stay in touch about your health, contact your GP to arrange an appointment.

Many appointments are still taking place over the phone or via video call. If you are offered a phone or video appointment, don’t turn it down – it might work better than you think. But if afterwards you feel you’d really benefit from seeing someone face to face, don’t be afraid to tell your doctor.

• Find out how to make the most of phone and video appointments
• Find out what to do if you can’t get through to your GP

How I get through winter with a heart condition - my top tips

Living with a congenital heart condition means Rachel Gerrard, 50, from Hertfordshire, has learnt to look after herself in the winter, and it’s even more important now that her valve surgery has been delayed.

How does winter affect you?

I find that breathing seems a bit harder, and living through winter generally seems more tiring, mentally and physically. This matters if your heart condition already means you get tired in the day.

How do you exercise in winter?

I belong to a gym and do as many classes or gym sessions as I feel up to, with a lovely hot shower after. I love aqua aerobics – it’s quite gentle but it is good exercise and it’s very sociable.

How do you prepare for winter and stay well?

If I know I’m going to be indoors more, I make sure I have activities I can do indoors, such as crafts. I try to keep the house warm, make sure I have regular hot drinks, and if I go out, I wear lots of layers, fluffy socks and a warm, long, waterproof coat.

I make or buy soups and stock up with lots of hot drinks and tins of beans. I keep milk and bread in the freezer, in case there is a very cold or icy day when it’s difficult to get out.

I use a pharmacy prescription delivery service. It’s easy to order online, and some of them manage repeat prescriptions for you. If you’re not online, ask your pharmacy if they can deliver for you.

Many GPs have online systems for booking appointments or requesting repeat prescriptions, so it’s worth getting set up on that.

Ask if friends or family can help with shopping, or shop online and have it delivered. On days that you can’t get out to see people, try to keep in touch – by phone, text messages or social media.

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