These 5 legit benefits of running in the cold just might convince you to layer up and get out
There’s no shame in moving your runs to the treadmill in the winter. It saves you from layering up, allows you to hit specific paces for intervals, and can simply feel more comfortable.
But if you feel safe, you can experience some real benefits to running in the cold, says Kimberley Dawson, Ph.D., a mental performance consultant and professor at Wilfrid Laurier University in chilly Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Many of the Olympians and other runners she works with describe winter running as a simultaneously soothing and invigorating experience – 'like a cleanse,' she says.
Of course, you need to take a few precautions before heading out in the cold. 'Layer up to keep your core temperature in a normal range and avoid hypothermia,' and also to ward off frostbite, says exercise physiologist Daniel Craighead, Ph.D., an assistant research professor at University of Colorado Boulder.
Also, inhaling cold air can trigger bronchospasms, asthma-like bouts of coughing and wheezing that hamper breathing. And elevated blood pressure in the cold could lead to heart attacks, especially in older people or those with underlying heart conditions.
Regardless of your baseline health, you’ll probably be forced to exercise indoors at some point this winter. Craighead recommends checking your local weather forecast and heeding warnings of snow and ice to determine when that happens.
While this all sounds like a lot to keep in mind, when the temperatures drop, you can still make it out for a run. In fact, by gearing up and stepping outside, you can gain a few advantages to running in the cold. Besides psychological sensations like peace and clarity, braving the elements comes with some physical perks, too. Here’s all you’ll gain from getting out there this season.
5 reasons to keep running in the cold
1. It takes the sting out of winter
On the first frigid day of each season, your sympathetic nervous system swoops into action, revving up your fight-or-flight system to save you from freezing. Your blood shuttles inward from your skin and extremities to preserve your core temperature and your vital organs, says Craighead. If you weren’t generating heat by running, you might start shivering.
But as you repeatedly encounter cold weather with no life-threatening consequences, your body learns to tone down its stress response, a somewhat mysterious process called cold habituation. As winter wears on, fewer stress hormones, such as catecholamines, flow through your bloodstream. And more of that blood stays close to your skin, making you feel warmer.
Unlike heat acclimatization, cold habituation has no proven performance benefits, nor does it seem to add to the health perks you’re already getting from exercise, Craighead says. However, regular runs can speed the adjustment process, making any other outdoor tasks—from walking the dog to waiting for the bus – more bearable.
2. It can help prevent seasonal sadness
Millions of us notice that our mood dips in colder months. Health experts believe one key reason for this condition, called seasonal affective disorder, is that less exposure to natural light throws off our circadian rhythms.
Training outdoors during daylight can help reset those rhythms, says Paul Winsper, Under Armour’s vice president of athlete performance. Sunlight exposure also increases production of vitamin D, a key component of mood-regulating neurotransmitters like serotonin (and, Winsper points out, is also critical to a healthy immune system).
Add to this the mood-boosting effects of both physical activity and exposure to green space, and cold-weather running can serve as a salve, Dawson says – an antidote for 'nature deficit disorder,' a term coined by author Richard Louv to refer to disconnection from the world around us. In addition, exercising outdoors may also decrease fear and uneasiness; in one large 21-year study, Swedish cross-country skiers were about half as likely to develop anxiety as non-skiers.
Of course, for many people, outdoor running alone isn’t enough to treat seasonal depression, anxiety, or other mood disorders. It’s still a good idea to talk with your doctor or a mental health professional if sadness, hopeless, or anxious thoughts interfere with your daily activities. And if you’re in crisis, you can call the Samaritans 24 hours a day on 116 123.
3. You can rev your metabolism
Shivering definitely increases your body’s energy expenditure, but if you’re running, your core temperature probably won’t drop enough for you to start shaking. However, research suggests less significant drops in body heat can trigger a phenomenon called nonshivering thermogenesis, an increase in metabolism mainly accomplished through the activation of special tissue called brown fat. (There’s even some evidence this effect increases as you become habituated to the cold.)
'As the weather is colder, people tend to be less active,' Craighead says. The one-two punch of exercising and colder air can keep your body’s fuelling systems humming along.
4. You build mental skills for racing
Say you’re training for a spring race – for instance, the Boston Marathon. The weather for these events can be unpredictable, as anyone who ran Boston in 2018 can tell you. Persevering through less-than-ideal conditions in training can prepare you to cope with any forecast come race day, Dawson says.
'You get this really nice sense of, I am mentally tough, I can do this,' she says. 'If I can navigate this, then I can navigate that spring marathon in terms of whatever it throws at me.'
5. You can let go of expectations and just have fun
The chemical reactions that produce muscle contractions function best at warm temperatures, meaning you can’t always perform as well in frigid conditions, Craighead says. That, combined with the extra challenge of ice or slush, means you can stress less about putting up a good pace on Strava.
'When it’s a sunny day and conditions are ideal, you think, "I need to really take advantage of that," Dawson says. 'I love a winter day because it demands nothing. It simply says that success is getting out the door.'
Of course, some people have an easier time backing off than others: 'I always liked running in the snow, because I didn’t have to worry about what pace I was running,' says Craighead, who competed at Ithaca College in New York. 'But then I’ve had teammates who freak out when they see a really slow time on their GPS watch and go too hard.'
If you’re still hung up on numbers, consider leaving your watch behind or running by time alone, Dawson suggests. Many runners she works with strike a balance by doing tempo runs or interval workouts on the treadmill, then doing long runs and easy runs outdoors.
Dawson also suggests being creative with your route: 'For me, I run around the cemetery because it’s the first road to get plowed,' she says – plus, it’s peaceful and quiet.
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