Why Spending Time in the Cold Is Really Good for Your Health—and Friendships

Supported by Science

If you live in a place where winter is synonymous with extreme cold (looking at you, East Coasters), you probably have very chilly memories of November through March 2021. Yes, those were the Peak Pandemic winter months. Aka that period of time when we had to hang out in 30-degree temperatures just to see our friends. When we ordered our dinners with a side of space heater. When we drank our cocktails with mittens on. When we went for frigid neighborhood walks with tumblers of mulled red wine.

Can I just say that I…kind of miss those old times? Of course I do not miss the actual Covid part. It was a terribly sad time for the world, and I (obviously) do not wish to relive that tragedy. But I do miss the hanging outside in winter part. I’m not much of a skier or a winter sports enthusiast in general, so for me, those *extremely frigid* get-togethers were fairly novel. I felt a little cold, but I also felt good. Invigorated. Alive. And now that I’m back to my cozy-on-the-couch ways, I miss those feelings. I want to experience them once again—and experts say that’s a really good idea. Not just for me, but for all of us.

“While many people tend to have a reluctance toward spending time outside in winter, embracing the cold is actually incredibly beneficial for both your mind and your body—especially when you’re doing so with your loved ones,” says Arkansas-based psychologist Dana Klisanin, PhD, who founded the ReWilding: Lab, an initiative that promotes nature’s therapeutic and healing benefits.