It’s been frigid for a long time in the area. How does that cold affect your body? Find out with Science Behind the Forecast.
This transcript was edited for brevity and clarity.
Bill Burton: It's time for us to take a look at the Science Behind the Forecast with WAVE 3 meteorologist Tawana Andrew. Good morning, Tawana.
Tawana Andrew: Are you ready to battle more cold temperatures?
BB: I'll try. I'm not sure how good of a battler I am when it comes to the cold temps, but that is our topic today, at least all of the things the cold temperatures do to us.
TA: We're gonna break down different ways that winter affects your body. First, let's talk about your blood pressure. It's not just having your family over that's raising your blood pressure.
BB: It’s part of the reason, but not the reason.
TA: It's not the reason. What happens is that the blood vessels, especially in our extremities, narrow during cold temperatures, and that leads to a spike in blood pressure. One study after adjusting for age, sex, and the region these people live in, found that your blood pressure was significantly higher during the winter than it is in the summer. Then you couple the cold temperatures with these restricted blood vessels, and higher blood pressure, and that all leads to an increasing risk of heart attacks. That's because your heart is working so much harder to beat against the pressure of these narrowed vessels, and that causes an extra demand for oxygen to the heart. All this extra strain in your heart can lead to the potential for a heart attack. It is rare, but it has happened, unfortunately.
One thing that intrigued me, apparently your DNA actually acts differently.
BB: Wait…our DNA changes?
TA: Yes, we're all mutants.
BB: That would explain a lot about me.
TA: Your superpowers are coming soon.
Your DNA acts differently as the seasons change. This is because of gene expression. As the weather gets colder, inflammation in your body increases, and this is the way that our body helps to fight colds, flus and other diseases that we typically get in the winter.
If you're sleeping too much, you might have hypersomnia. This is the recurrent episode of excessive daytime sleepiness, or prolonged nighttime sleep. There was a study that found that hypersomnia does increase for some people as temperatures drop. There was one study that went through about 1,500 people, and nearly half of them reported winter sleep increases of at least two hours every single day. It's not just an extra nap, it might actually be hypersomnia.
BB: A couple of hours? I kind of wish I had it, honestly.
TA: Extra sleep at this time of the year, not bad. But you can sleep too much.
Seasonal affective disorder. That's one a lot of people know about. The type of depression that typically occurs in the late fall and early winter and ends in the spring and summer. That brings low energy. Hypersomnia is also something that is a factor in this. Overeating, weight gain. The National Institute of Mental Health has craving for carbohydrates separate from weight gain. I feel like it's all coupled together, though, but you know, you are craving those mashed potatoes.
BB: Those pizza cravings are their own category.
TA: Something else that happens when we have less daylight, your body actually produces more melatonin, makes you sleepier, and also you have lower serotonin levels, that makes you feel less happy during the cold months, all because we have less daylight. Yeah, winter weather is out to get us all, apparently.
