7 Surprising Ways Cold Weather Helps Your Body

We think of winter as cold and flu season, but the chilly temperatures have powerful biological upsides too

- Isadora Baum and Jen Mccaffery with Ishani Nandi

1 BOOSTS YOUR BRAIN

Colder temperatures can help you think more clearly. Studies have found that people perform some cognitive tasks (such as making decisions) better when the temperature is cooler. They also show that people are less inclined to tackle complex tasks in the summer than in the winter. According to Dr Ashutosh Shukla, director and head, department of medicine at Artemis Hospitals, “Medical research reveals that the ability to perform mental tasks is far improved when room temperatures are set at a lower level. On the contrary, in warmer environments, people feel less inclined to tackle tricky cognitive problems because more glucose is needed to accomplish complex brain tasks.” That leaves less available fuel for reasoning and recall tasks.

2 BURNS CALORIES