{"id":5761,"date":"2019-01-09T21:56:11","date_gmt":"2019-01-09T21:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/?p=5761"},"modified":"2019-01-30T19:34:29","modified_gmt":"2019-01-30T19:34:29","slug":"below-zero-get-outside-for-your-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/en\/below-zero-get-outside-for-your-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Get Outside This Winter \u2014 For the Health of It!"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Hibernating all winter is not exactly the best way to feel a shared connection to wildlife.<\/h2>\n<p>When temperatures drop below zero, it\u2019s certainly tempting to let your love of the outdoors grow cold.<\/p>\n<p>However, winter months in the Great White North are actually a great time to get in touch with your <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/en\/canada-wildlife-makes-me-canadian\/\">inner Canadian<\/a>: the one that knows what a toque and mukluks are, who understands the joy of sitting on a well-waxed wooden toboggan at the crest of a snow-covered hill, and who longs for a sheet of natural ice and a Sunday afternoon game of pond-hockey.<\/p>\n<p>Playing outside during the winter months is not just a fun way to get in touch with your eight-year-old igloo-building self; there are many health benefits to staying active, especially if you\u2019re someone whose mood turns grey during the colder months, matching the winter sky.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5717\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5717\" style=\"width: 1100px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-standard wp-image-5717\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Silvana2-1100x640.jpg\" alt=\"On route to Mount Romulus, our 18-kilometre day.\" width=\"1100\" height=\"640\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5717\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">@Silvana Botros<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>The Human Species Shouldn&#8217;t Hibernate<\/h3>\n<p>Avoiding the effects of the aptly-named Seasonal Affective Disorder (a.k.a. SAD) by soaking up the sun\u2019s natural Vitamin D supply is a good start. Getting outside helps your insides in many different ways.<\/p>\n<p>Cold weather activity can help <strong>boost your brain, burn more calories and help combat risks of obesity and depression<\/strong> that come from spending a sedentary life indoors all winter. <a href=\"http:\/\/cwf-fcf.org\/en\/explore-our-work\/connecting-with-nature\/below-zero\/wildlife-in-winter\/?src=blog\">Bears and bats<\/a> need to store their fat to get through the winter: humans, not so much!<\/p>\n<p>Outdoor exercise and winter sunlight work together to help get your blood flowing, providing your organs with energy-boosting nutrients that can curb winter blues and keep your waistline in check. Of course, there\u2019s a few things to remember before you head into the cold winter air to ensure\u00a0 you\u2019re protected:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>First, layer well<\/strong>. Start with a layer of material designed to draw sweat from your body, like a dry wick top. Add an insulating layer such as fleece to keep you warm and also allow water vapour to pass through. Top it off with a waterproof outer layer to protect you from the elements.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Protect your extremities<\/strong>, the vulnerable areas of your body like fingers, toes, ears and nose, from frostbites. Cover up with warm waterproof gloves, hats, scarves and ear-muffs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t forget the sunscreen<\/strong>! Winter sun rays are reflected by snow, so be sure to apply sunscreen to exposed areas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-standard wp-image-3196\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/child-winte-1100x640.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1100\" height=\"640\" \/><\/h3>\n<h3>Just For the Health of It<\/h3>\n<p>The new year is a great time to make a lifestyle change designed to <a href=\"http:\/\/cwf-fcf.org\/en\/explore-our-work\/connecting-with-nature\/below-zero\/health.html?src=blog\">improve your health<\/a>. Living leaner, staying active, reducing stress and getting outside are all wise ideas. Of course, getting outside is also a way to ensure you maintain a year-round connection to wildlife and your natural surroundings.<\/p>\n<p>Download our free iNaturalist Canada app and use it on your next hike. And if you\u2019re stuck for ideas on what to do outside, check out the <a href=\"http:\/\/cwf-fcf.org\/en\/explore-our-work\/connecting-with-nature\/below-zero\/?src=blog\">CWF Below Zero page<\/a> for 50 great things to do this winter.<\/p>\n<h4>Canada is a winter wonderland, so get outside \u2013 just for the health of it!<\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"post-excerpt\">Hibernating all winter is not exactly the best way to feel a shared connection to wildlife. When temperatures drop below zero, it\u2019s certainly tempting to let your love of the&hellip;<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":5883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[631],"tags":[850,219,5714],"class_list":["post-5761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-connect-with-nature","tag-below-zero","tag-get-outside","tag-hibernation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5761"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5764,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5761\/revisions\/5764"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}