November 1st, 2018 by Chris Chapman

As the cold weather chills the country, you might start to notice you feel a bit sniffly. For centuries, parents have told their kids to wrap up warm in winter or they’ll come down with a cold – that’s why we call it a cold! However, we now know that colds can be caused by hundreds of different viruses, and you can catch a virus in summer just as easily as you can in winter. Despite this, the cold weather really does seem to bring with it cold and flu symptoms – so what’s the truth? Can cold weather really give you a cold, or is it just an old wives’ tale? Read on to find out!

Why Do Colds Spread in Winter?

As you probably complain about every morning through winter, British winters get cold. Cold weather tends to encourage people to stay inside more, which helps viruses spread more easily. You might not realise it, but you pick up germs every day while you’re at work. You can carry these germs home with you and, even if your body fights off the infection with no symptoms, you can pass them on to your family who may get sick. This means that, while cold weather doesn’t directly make you sick, the fact you spend more time indoors huddled up with other people certainly contributes. You can do your bit to help prevent this by being extra-vigilant with your cleaning while you’re at home. Always wipe down any hard surfaces with some anti-bacterial spray, especially in the kitchen. You should also ensure you regularly wash your hands or use hand sanitiser to make sure you’re not exchanging germs with other people.

Viruses and Your Immune System

As we outlined above, there aren’t necessarily more viruses around in winter, but the viruses that are always there tend to spread more easily. This is made worse by the fact that some cold viruses – such as rhinovirus – actually replicate faster in slightly cooler temperatures. In winter, your nose is usually a little colder than the core of your body, so viruses that like to live in your nose are given the ideal conditions to spread quickly. Studies have shown that is why you end up getting a lot of sniffles in the cold. You may know that you’ve got layers of mucus and hair inside your nose which are supposed to catch viruses (and other things like dust) and stop them from invading your body. In cold weather, the hairs and mucus find it harder to do their job properly, so viruses that live in the nose will have an easier time spreading. This is what leads to runny noses and sore throats! Again, while cold weather doesn’t directly make you ill, it does create conditions which make getting ill more likely.

Being Cold Through the Night

Have you ever woken up feeling full of cold even though you felt fine the night before? Everyone has at some point, and it’s likely the result of being too cold in bed. Your body has to maintain a consistently warm internal temperature to work properly. When it’s cold, the body has to use more energy to maintain this temperature, meaning it has less energy to fight off relatively minor things like colds. When you’re awake, you can move around, wrap up in extra clothes, turn the heating on; basically, you can take steps to help keep yourself warm. When you’re asleep, your bedroom temperature can drop quite sharply through the night and you’re not in a position to do anything about it! Keep yourself cosy through the night with lots of thick bedding or, better yet, an electric blanket. This will help keep you at an even, warm temperature through the night.

Overall: Does Cold Weather Make You Sick?

Cold weather on its own doesn’t give you a cold – viruses do. However, when it’s cold, our bodies and behaviour create the ideal conditions for viruses to thrive, so there is a kernel of truth to that old wives’ tale after all! Be aware of this in winter, and don’t just wrap up warm – be extra hygienic, wash your hands more often, and clean up a bit more regularly to keep the germs at bay.