Winter wellness - Blog

To give your winter wellness a boost, there are 5 main areas to focus on:

healthy foods
exercise
vaccinations
good hygiene
staying warm.

If you take care of these things, you’ll increase your chances of staying healthy all winter long.

1. Healthy foods

Dietitians Australia recommends eating nutritious foods as a simple way to boost your immune system. Foods rich in Vitamin C, zinc and protein can reduce your chance of getting sick. Enjoying comfort foods like pumpkin soup or baked fish (which are high in zinc) can help your digestive and immune systems. You can also add citrus fruits like lemon into tea and hot water to give your body an extra boost to help fight off sickness.

Want to cook more healthy foods but don’t know where to start? Here is a handy list of immune-boosting recipes to keep you feeling well all winter long.

We think these easy recipes sound delicious:

For more inspiration, read our article on the best seasonal winter produce to inspire your healthy winter menu.

2. Exercise

To keep active through winter, it’s essential to spend time warming up your muscles to prevent injury. Make exercise the best part of your week by choosing an activity you enjoy, like walking or swimming in a heated pool. If you live in one of our villages, there are plenty of activities on offer, making it easier for you to stay active and healthy in the colder months.

If you’re new to exercise or feeling a bit unsure of where to start, here are two articles about how our residents are using exercise to keep them fit, healthy and strong:

3. Vaccinations

If you had your flu vaccine last year, it's important to get a new jab this year because the flu virus changes frequently. While the flu vaccine can’t prevent the common cold, it can reduce the severity of flu infections and improve your natural immune response. This means you may not get sick, even if exposed to the flu virus.

Update in 2023: To help protect yourself from severe COVID-19 infection, follow the latest government advice on COVID-19 vaccinations for your age and health conditions.

More information:

Learn more about why vaccinations are important for older people.
Find out where to get vaccinated.

4. Good hygiene

To reduce your chances of getting sick with other infections, it’s important to keep your home and surfaces clean. A disinfectant spray will work well for this.

Essential oils can also improve your winter wellness. Use an oil diffuser with immune-boosting oils like frankincense, tea tree, lemon and peppermint. These will not only make your home smell great but will also help to clear the air.

More information:

Read these tips to keep your home hygienically clean.
Learn more about how to reduce the spread of germs and infectious diseases through hygiene at home.

5. Staying warm

Rugging up in layers of winter woollies can also help improve your immune system and protect you from the cold weather. It seems our mums were right when they told us to put our jumpers on, or we’ll catch a cold. Researchers at Yale University have confirmed the common cold doesn’t spread as easily in warmer temperatures.

So, grab your scarves and trench coats and show off your winter style. It’s fashionable and good for you!

For some cool-weather wardrobe inspiration, read our guide to timeless winter fashion.

6. Keep healthy all winter long

Even though it’s cold outside, there are still many things to see and do in winter. So rug up, eat well and nurture your immune system to keep your health in tip-top shape all season long.

For more information about the lifestyle and support offered at our retirement villages, call our customer service team on 1800 550 550.

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From flu vaccines to keeping active: our winter wellness tips