Winter is in full swing in the UK now, and it's coming with more than just beautiful snowfalls and warm nights by the fireplace. Latest updates on the weather indicate another snowstorm is incoming, with temperatures dipping to 0°C in areas of Scotland and fluctuating at 2-3°C elsewhere. While this may seem like the ideal time to snuggle up with a hot cup of tea, for millions who suffer from chronic illnesses, the falling temperatures translate into one thing—increased pain and discomfort.

As the temperatures continue to plummet and winter storms march in, keeping on top of your health is crucial. From staying warm to exercising to adhering to a healthy regimen, every little bit counts. Listen to what your body is asking for, practice preventive care, and urge loved ones to do the same. Winter is rugged, after all—but with a little bit of know-how, you don't have to let it wear down your well-being.

Cold, wet, and windy conditions have been associated with aggravation of symptoms for arthritis sufferers, those with respiratory conditions, and even menstrual cramps. So how does the cold actually affect us, and how can we make the most of the effects? Here is the lowdown.

Why Do Health Conditions Worsen in Cold Weather?

If you’ve ever felt your joints ache or muscles stiffen as temperatures drop, you’re not alone. Studies suggest that changes in atmospheric pressure, lower temperatures, and increased humidity can all contribute to worsening symptoms of various health conditions.

As the temperatures drop lower and winter storms roll in, being proactive about your health is the key. Whether keeping warm, exercising, or eating a healthy regimen, every small step can go a long way. Listen to what your body requires, take precautions, and urge your loved ones to do the same. After all, winter is harsh—but with the right strategy, you don't have to let it have an adverse effect on your health.

1. Asthma and Respiratory Conditions

Winter air may be especially tough on people with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and other lung conditions. Cold air is dry air, and this can dry out airways and make breathing tougher.

Why It Worsens: Cold, dry air and more exposure to indoor allergens add to inflammation and breathing problems.

Management Tips: Warm the air before inhaling it with a scarf, maintain indoor humidity at proper levels, and remain current with flu and pneumonia shots.

2. Heart Disease and High Blood Pressure

Research has established that winter is the time when heart attacks and strokes occur more frequently, especially in individuals above 60 years. In cold weather, the heart must work harder to keep the body warm, hence higher blood pressure and cardiovascular event risk.

How It Worsens: The cold temperature tightens blood vessels, which makes blood pressure higher and heart attack risk greater.

Management Tips: Dress warmly, avoid sudden activity, and maintain regular health check-ups to keep track of blood pressure levels.

3. Migraines and Headaches

A change in atmospheric pressure and exposure to cold can cause migraines and bad headaches in susceptible individuals.

Why It Worsens: The decrease in barometric pressure can cause chemical and electrical changes in the brain that lead to migraines.

Management Tips: Prevent sudden temperature fluctuations, stay hydrated, and control stress to minimize frequency and severity.

4. Raynaud's Disease

Raynaud's disease results in the small blood vessels of the hands and feet constricting excessively in reaction to cold, resulting in numbness, tingling, and pain.

Why It Worsens: Cold temperatures limit blood flow to extremities, resulting in discomfort and discoloration.

Management Tips: Wear insulated socks and gloves, stay away from cold, and use medications that enhance circulation.

5. Period Pain and Menstrual Discomfort

Research in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health reported that lower indoor temperatures tend to make menstrual cramps worse.

Why It Worsens: Cold causes the release of more prostaglandins, hormone-like substances that induce painful uterine contractions.

Management Tips: Keep warm, have hot drinks, and apply heat packs to relieve cramps.

6. Higher Risk of Flu and Pneumonia

Winter is the time when flu season reaches its peak, with increased rates of infection resulting in a higher risk of complications like pneumonia, especially among susceptible groups such as the older population and immunocompromised individuals.

Why It Worsens: Individuals spend more time indoors, where they are exposed to more viruses, and the immune system can be compromised by cold temperatures.

Management Tips: Get vaccinated, wash hands frequently, and get medical attention immediately if flu symptoms get worse.

Ways to Manage Winter Health Flare-Ups

Keep Warm to Keep Well

Ensuring your body stays warm is one of the simplest yet most effective ways to prevent winter-related health flare-ups. The NHS recommends keeping indoor temperatures at least 18°C and layering up when heading outside.

• Use heating pads, warm compresses, or hot water bottles on stiff, aching joints.
• Dress in thermal layers, including gloves and socks, to maintain circulation and prevent stiffness.
• Avoid sudden exposure to cold air, particularly if you have respiratory problems.

Stay Active – Even When It's Cold

At lower temperatures, it is easy to stay all wrapped up at home, but inactivity can exacerbate pain. Regular light physical exercise aids circulation, maintains flexible joints, and increases mood.

• A short 15-minute brisk walk outside (or on a treadmill) can keep muscles warm and joints flexible.
• Easy stretching or home yoga can minimize stiffness.
• Pulmonary rehab classes can help patients with COPD to enhance lung function.

Eat and Drink Wisely

Your diet has an important part to play in maintaining your health during winter.

• Nutritious warm food containing anti-inflammatory foods such as green leafy vegetables, nuts, and fatty fish can minimize pain.
• Stay well hydrated with warm herbal teas or water at room temperature rather than cold beverages, which can bring on period pains and exacerbate joint aches.
• If healthy food is difficult for you to access, community services and local food banks may be able to offer assistance.

Check Your Health Regularly and Seek Help Early

With the cold winter months boosting health threats, check-ups are important. The NHS advises those with ongoing illnesses to remain proactive about their health by:

• Making advance appointments to keep track of the changes in the symptoms.
• Continuing the medicines as prescribed and consulting if symptoms increase.
• Taking all the vaccines (flu, pneumonia, Covid, shingles, RSV) up to date.
• Quit Smoking for Better Health

If you needed another reason to quit smoking, winter provides one. Within just three days of quitting, your breathing improves, making it easier to handle cold weather. The NHS offers support programs to help smokers quit for good.

US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has canceled nearly $2billion worth of funding for substance abuse and mental health programs across the country in a sweeping decision.

The MAHA leader dissolved 2,000 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) related-grants overnight, a move that many experts say will hamper frontline care for some of the most vulnerable people in the country.

These grants provide resources for overdose prevention, addiction recovery and mental health services to individuals, regardless of age and gender.

“Without that funding, people are going to lose access to lifesaving services,” Yngvild Olsen, former director of SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and a national adviser at Manatt Health, said.

According to letters sent to multiple non-profits associated with the SAMHSA, grants are terminated as of January 13 and "costs resulting from financial obligations incurred after termination are not allowable", NPR revealed.

This move comes on top of deep Medicaid cuts, passed last year by the Republican-dominated Congress, which has severely affected numerous mental health and addiction care providers.

Why Were The Grants Canceled?

While officials say that the grants were reinstated the next morning, affected organizations claim to have received no such notice and have begun to make difficult decisions in response to the cuts, including laying off employees and canceling scheduled trainings, according to AP.

What Are Experts Saying?

Advocacy groups across the nation are now amplifying concerns over the abrupt cancellation of federal mental health and substance use grants. National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr noted: "These cuts are disheartening and cruel, and they threaten the life-saving work of hundreds of organizations that provide critical mental health support across the United States.

"Addressing our mental health and substance use crises in this country has never been political, which is why it continues to have bipartisan support in Congress. These abrupt and unjustified cuts will immediately disrupt suicide prevention efforts, family and peer recovery support, overdose prevention and treatment and mental health awareness and education programming, along with so many more essential services, putting an unknown number of lives at stake.

"These aren't just numbers on paper. These are decisions that have real and harmful consequences for millions of people and communities around the country."

Robert Franks, CEO of the Boston-based mental health provider the Baker Center for Children and Families, added that loss of funding would force his organization to lay off staff and put care in jeopardy for some 600 families receiving it.

What Does Congress Say?

"These cuts will cost lives. Throughout his tenure, Secretary Kennedy has done nothing to make Americans safer, and everything to place us in more danger. Restricting vaccine access, calling into question proven treatments for diseases, and now stripping communities of the resources they need to prevent drug overdoses and treat addiction.

"These cuts by the Trump Administration are senseless and unconscionable. They will destroy families, ruin lives and cause preventable deaths. The Trump Administration must immediately reverse these cancellations of critical grants so that American families can continue to receive the services they depend on to survive."

American host Oprah Winfrey, who told her fans she was taking GLP-1 weight loss medication in 2023, has revealed that she stopped taking injections for a short period of time last year and ended up gaining significant weight.

During an episode of the TODAY show with Jenna & Sheinelle, Winfrey, 71, said: "I was off the (weight loss medications) all last year and I gained 20lbs because I wanted to test it.

"Because everyone was saying 'you're going to gain the weight' (and) I'm going to show them that I'm not going to gain the weight. I'm going to hike."

However, the media mogul ended up gaining most of her weight back, citing that once she was off the medications, she would stand in front of the refrigerator thinking "what can I eat".

Is This Scientifically True?

Researchers have found that those who lose weight using blockbuster GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic could regain about 0.4kg every month after quitting these treatments. In contrast, those who lost weight through exercise, diet and other factors only gained 0.1kg.

Ozempic (semaglutide) is a prescription injectable GLP-1 medication primarily approved for adults with Type 2 diabetes to manage blood sugar levels. However, the drug has gained immense popularity among those trying to lose weight as it can reduce hunger and help people feel full for longer, which forces the body to burn fat deposits to stay functional.

In clinical trials, people with obesity using semaglutide have shown to lose an average of about 15% of their body weight over 68 weeks. Most people begin to see noticeable results within 8 to 12 weeks of taking the drug.

The official price in India for a once-weekly Ozempic injection pen ranges from approximately ₹8,800 for the 0.25 mg dose to around ₹11,175 for the 1 mg dose per month. Insurance coverage is generally inconsistent for weight loss indications.

Have Weight Loss Impacted Winfrey's Diet?

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the OWN founder noted that in the last two years, her relationship with food and exercise has changed drastically, in addition to erasing her taste for alcohol.

'The fact that I no longer even have a desire for it is pretty amazing,' Winfrey said.

The talk show legend once admitted she was able to :outdrink everyone at the table" and "was a big fan of tequila". "I literally had 17 shots one night," she said, "I haven't had a drink in years. The fact that I no longer even have a desire for it is pretty amazing."

Additionally, Winfrey said she no longer obsesses over food and has embraced exercise for the first time in her life. However, once she understood that she began to gain weight when she stopped taking injections, Winfrey realized that the medication will likely be "a lifetime thing".

"It's going to be a lifetime thing. I'm on high blood pressure medication, and if I go off the high blood pressure medication, my blood pressure is going to go up. The same thing is true now, I realize, with these medications. I’ve proven to myself I need it," she told the publication.

Winfrey now typically takes the shots weekly, but sometimes stretches them to 10 or 12 days. "You need to start slow and gradual,' she advised. 'If you start by taking too much at one time, you have more of a chance of messing yourself up

Apart form this, the media star also now works out for about two hours a day, six days a week, hiking, doing cardio or strength training.

A new British study has discovered that social media use or video gaming is not causing mental health problems in young teenagers.

For decades, experts across industries have warned that time spent on social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram or gaming platforms could be driving a rise in anxiety and depression among teenagers.

However, researchers from the University of Manchester claim to have found little to no evidence over links of such claims.

Lead author Dr Qiqi Cheng said: "We know families are worried, but our results do not support the idea that simply spending time on social media or gaming leads to mental health problems, the story is far more complex than that."

Who Did The Scientists Analyze?

The researchers tracked pupils’ self-reported social media habits, gaming frequency and emotional difficulties over three school years to find out whether technology use genuinely predicted later mental health difficulties.

What Did They Find?

The researchers found no proof that heavy social media use or more frequent gaming caused increases in symptoms of anxiety or depression over the following year - for both boys or girls.

Girls who gamed more often went on to spend slightly less time on social media the following yea and boys who reported more emotional difficulties were more likely to cut back on gaming in the future. This suggested links between losing interest in hobbies when feeling low or parents limiting screen time when they notice their child is struggling.

The research team also explored whether actively chatting on social media or just passively scrolling made a difference but results stayed the same

The authors emphasize that this does not mean online experiences are harmless. Hurtful messages, online pressures and extreme content can still impact wellbeing but they argue that focusing simply blaming screen time is not enough and more attention needs to be paid.

Why are Teenagers More Prone To Mental Health Issues?

Constant comparison on social media, cyberbullying and pressure to fit in online or offline significantly impact self-esteem and increase anxiety. Apart from this, exposure to violence, neglect, abuse or poverty during these formative years is a major risk factor for developing mental illnesses like PTSD, depression and anxiety.

Additionally, some adolescents are also genetically more susceptible to mental health conditions, which can be triggered by environmental stressors.