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Top Tips For Keeping Your Bones Healthy This Winter

July 1, 2020

Guest post by Associate Professor Paul Anderson from the Bone Health Foundation.

Get more seafood into your diet

Who doesn’t love fish and chips? Certain types of readily available seafood are high in vitamin D. You don’t have to burst the budget. From canned sardines and tuna and to oily fillets like salmon, there are many ways to sneak additional vitamin D into your diet thanks to seafood. For those who love a bite of Japanese, you’re in luck! Raw and sashimi style seafood have higher levels of vitamin D than cooked seafood.

Perch yourself by a open window

For most people, you online need 5 to 10 minutes of sun exposure per day to reach your recommended daily intake. If you find the full exposure to the cold simply too unbearable, why not prop yourself in front of an open window facing the sun while having a cup of tea?

Embrace the cold weather where possible

While it is important to maintain a smart approach to the cooler season, it is still recommended that you spend some time each day moving outdoors. Your bones will benefit from the light exercise and sun exposure you get from a 20-minute walk around the block.

Build a diet of fortified goodness

Foods that are fortified have extra nutrients added to them and are therefore stocked with additioanl vitamin D. Examples of supermarket available fortified products include milk, cheese, yoghurt, tofu and some breakfast cereals. On the wholefoods front, look to pork chops, mushrooms and eggs to add some additional vitamin D into your diet.

Stretch it out with an at-home workout

Weight-bearing exercises are a fantastic way to minimise the stiffness of our joints and brittleness of our bones during winter. You don’t have to be a master athlete, instead a short burst of stretching, an at-home yoga routine or a strength workout is all you need to maintain your bone strength and mobility. If you need a knee compression sleeve check this out.

Don’t Ignore Aches & Pains

If you’re feeling under the weather during the winter, then don’t ignore your aches and pains – the cold temperatures will only make them worse! Slips and trips on icy or snowy surfaces can lead to bond injuries, so be sure to get stocked up on bandages, knee braces and heat packs to ease the damage. If you hurt yourself or do not feel well for whatever reason, book yourself in with your local healthcare professional to find the best treatment or solution before your condition can cause further discomfort. It’s not worth the risk to ignore your aches and pains, especially when they concern the health of your bones, so don’t wait for things to improve on their own.

Aim For 8 Hours Sleep

Aiming for 8 hours of sleep each night will give your body the opportunity it needs to heal and grow, boosting your bone health and overall well-being while helping you to feel refreshed and revitalised, too. Getting a full 8 hours of rest might seem pretty difficult, but implementing a sleep hygiene routine can be of real benefit. Try and avoid smartphones and other blue light screens for at least 2 hours before you plan on going to sleep, and create a basic night schedule that includes steps such as cleansing your skin, brushing your teeth and changing into your pyjamas to get your mind and body ready for sleep.

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