3 reasons running in the cold weather is so good for you, according to a physical therapist
- Exercise physiologist Tom Holland said he encourages everyone to run when it's cold outside.
- Running in the cold will help boost your mood and immune system during the darker months, he said.
While most casual runners may opt to stay inside as the weather gets colder, the winter is actually one of the best times to run according to exercise physiologist Tom Holland.
He said that not only does running in the cold have some great benefits, but it also puts much less stress on your body than running when it's hot outside.
Holland told Insider that running in the cold can improve your mood and can even make your immune system more resilient to winter ailments.
What to wear: A tight first layer, a hat, and gloves
Holland, who is the host of the podcast Fitness Disrupted, said that there are a few important things to consider when running in the cold. First, he said, you're going to want to prioritize keeping your extremities, like your hands and ears, warm.
"If you look at the front of a marathon on a cold day, the elites have tank tops and shorts — and hats and gloves," he said.
In the cold, he said that the body prioritizes warming your core, which pulls blood away from the parts of the body furthest from your heart.
For the rest of your body, Holland said that you want to be warm, but not too warm, which is going to depend on the person and how cold it is outside. While you shouldn't feel freezing when you step outside, he said, you still want to feel cold because your body is going to warm up quickly from running.
He recommends a tight first layer for your upper body, which he said can be enough for him even below freezing. Then a looser layer for your upper body if it's really cold, he said and he'll throw on a cycling jacket for the wind if the weather is more extreme.
One to two layers is usually enough for your lower body, he said.
Benefit 1: You'll likely have better performance
One of the best reasons to run in the cold, Holland said, is that you're probably going to run faster and feel better than if you ran in the heat.
Temperature regulation during running puts stress on our bodies, he said, but this stress is worse in the heat because your blood is moving away from your core to your skin in order to produce sweat. This process takes away blood from our heart, which is the "engine" powering our run, he said.
While the "ideal" running weather is probably in the 50s when it's not too warm or cold, he said your body's temperature regulation in cold weather is not counterproductive to running in the same way, because blood is going towards the heart.
Although Holland said the research is mixed as to whether the cold helps your body burn calories, you will most likely push yourself harder in the cold because you feel better.
Benefit 2: Running in the cold can improve your mood
Holland said his favorite reason to suggest people run in the cold is that it will most likely make them feel better mentally. Exercise like running releases various mood-boosting chemicals like endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin, as Insider has previously reported.
Colder months are also a time when we don't want to go outside as much, Holland said, but it's actually very important that we do. As the days get shorter, conditions like seasonal affective disorder become much more prevalent.
Exercising in nature can have an even greater benefit to mental health, he said, than exercising indoors.
"If you look at the research into exercising in nature, you're going to tend to do it longer, you're going to tend to do to enjoy it more, you're going to be more likely to do it again," he said.
Benefit 3: Exercising in the cold may be good for your immune system
Any kind of physical activity is going to be a boon to your health, Holland says, because studies suggest being more sedentary in winter can make you more prone to illness.
Studies have also suggested that exposure to physical conditions like the cold can make your body better at dealing with stress overall, as Insider's Rachel Hosie previously reported.
Holland said it's important to challenge your body during times when you're more inclined to stay inside and move less in order to stay healthy.