Chill Seekers

Instead of grumbling about the cold, why not chillax and embrace it — there are some surprising mind and body benefits, says Jane Symons

- Jane Symons

It’s easy to complain about the cold, turn up the heating and stay on the sofa huddled under a blanket. But the truth is, cold can actually be good for you. For example, a new study suggests that swimming regularly in cold water reduces the risk of developing dementia. While wild swimming has had a big uptake in recent years, you don’t have to plunge to icy depths to get the benefit of the cold, there are lots of other cool ways to get a lift.

Cool cognition

If you’re struggling with sudoku or crosswords, turn down the thermostat.

Studies show that having the room temperature between 10°C and 15°C improves scores on cognition tests. And it’s worth storing up challenging tasks for winter. Norwegian researchers who put more than 300 people through a series of experiments to measure their mental agility found that scores were higher in four out of five of the tests during winter than in summer.

This came as a surprise as the scientists had expected Seasonal Affective Disorder to impact winter scores. Maybe it’s a good time to start tackling your tax return.

Sleep right

Insomniacs often struggle to sleep because they can’t regulate their body temperature overnight.