Rockford’s Lingering Cold Weather Has Actual Benefits

We're four days into April and I haven't stashed the winter coat for the season yet. Taking a quick survey of our building, I see that I'm not alone, and that several of my coworkers are less than happy about the ongoing cold.

When I asked one coworker what they thought the benefits of it still feeling winter-like in the Rockford area might be, the response was: "Other than not mowing the ****ing lawn, I can't think of a thing!"

In spite of Mr. Cranky-pants and his attitude, there are some pretty decent health benefits to being chilly.

Let's Start Out With One Benefit I Think We Can All Agree On

We're not getting bitten by mosquitoes. I know, there should be a "yet" at the end of the sentence, but for right now, we're all mosquito-bite free.

According to LiveStrong.com, the Aedes and Culex mosquitoes aren’t “active” (because they’re hibernating) when it’s below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, so your chances of contracting these diseases through a mosquito bite diminish considerably.

Another benefit would be the one that your waistline will appreciate, and that's the fact that you're burning more fat in colder weather.

The Journal of Clinical Investigation examined the metabolism of six healthy men after exposing them to cold (without making them shiver). After the experiment they found that their brown fat burned white fat and the subjects’ resting energy expenditure (metabolism) increased by 80 percent.

Two More Benefits To Rockford's Continuing Cold Would Relate To Sleep And Mood

The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that people who suffer from insomnia have more action going on in the frontal lobes of their brains (the part of the brain devoted to planning), hence the common complaint about the inability to turn off their brains. By literally cooling off their heads, the study subjects fell asleep almost as fast as those without insomnia.

The mood benefit comes in to play if you work out. In an article about the benefits of cold-weather workouts in Vogue, the one-two punch of the sun’s spirit-lifting rays and exercise endorphins can boost your mood significantly.