A guide to keeping yourself safe, warm and well in winter

UK winters may become colder with the effects of climate change, and with energy costs soaring, keeping warm and well in winter may be a more complex challenge than you have previously faced.

With this in mind, for a few tips and ideas on how to stay safe and healthy in the winter, we've created a quick guide to the steps you can take to look after yourself in winter.

One crucial way to stay safe, warm and well in winter is to prepare your home for winter. Preparing for winter includes ensuring your home helps you to stay safe and healthy. This can be difficult if you are on a low income.

How to keep your home warm

Keeping your home warm is essential in the winter. So it is crucial to take steps to not only warm your house, but also be able to retain that heat. 

Ways to do this include:

• Closing your bedroom window at night as cold air can cause chest infections;
• Service your heating system yearly, ensuring that you use a qualified professional to do this
• Close curtains to trap the heat inside your home

The main room in your home, such as your living room, should be at about 21 degrees celsius and your bedroom should be around 18 degrees celsius.  

If you're wondering what temperature is too cold for a house in the UK, bear in mind that an unhealthy room temperature is less than 18 degrees celsius if you:

• Are 65 years or over
• Have health problems affecting your heart or have lung disease
• Are not particularly mobile

Otherwise, you can keep your home at less than 18 degrees celsius providing you feel comfortable.

Check if you're eligible for help with heating costs

Keeping your home warm in the winter can be costly. Therefore, it is important to ensure that you do not lose heat, wasting energy and money. You can help do this by:

• Draught-proofing doors and windows
• Providing insulation in your loft
• Getting cavity wall insulation
• Ensuring you lag your pipes and hot-water tank

To cover the cost of keeping your home warm in the winter season, you may be eligible for help with heating bills. For example, you may be able to benefit from:

• A winter fuel payment
• Financial help from the Energy Companies Obligation (ECO) scheme 
• A pensions credit
• A £400 energy discount from the Government

If you are thinking about how you can stay safe in winter, looking after your health is crucial. There are many ways you can help yourself stay safe and healthy in the winter months, and we have explored a few below.

Clothing for wrapping up warm 

One way to stay warm in winter in the UK is to ensure you are wrapping up warm. This is a simple way of helping you keep warm both outside and inside. For example, you can:

•  Place a blanket or shawl around you while sitting inside
• Wrap up warm at night with extra bed clothes or a hot water bottle
• Ensure all parts of your body are wrapped up when outside in winter - so perhaps wear gloves, scarf and a hat;
• Wear many thin layers of clothing to trap the heat
• Choose footwear carefully, such as wearing thermal socks

Winter exercise and staying healthy 

To stay safe and healthy during winter in the UK, exercise can really help. Exercise doesn't have to be full-on workouts either; simply staying active will make a difference.

Staying active is important both indoors and outdoors as it helps to keep your body warm in winter, while also helping with your physical and mental health.

To stay active when indoors during the winter you could:

• Walk around your home
• Get up and move about at least every hour
• Pace indoor chores throughout the day
• Stand rather than sit down when on a phone call

If spending time outdoors staying active, you could:

• Take a walk
• Do some gardening

Remember that whatever exercise you do when outdoors in the UK winter, make sure you are wrapping up warm to stay well and safe.

Eating well in winter

Preparing for winter also means eating well, as your diet is of course important for staying healthy.

So, make sure you:

• Eat often and eat enough food
• Ensure at least one meal a day is hot
• Drink hot drinks throughout the day
• Drink something warm before you sleep

To help ensure you eat well in winter months, you can:

• Make sure your cupboards are stocked with basic items
• Ensure that what you eat contains the nutrients and vitamins you need, including your five a day portions of fruit and vegetables

Staying safe and healthy during the winter season means protecting yourself from illnesses. If you do get ill in the winter months, to get well and safe again you could seek help from:

• Local pharmacy
• Your GP
• By calling 111

How to protect yourself from germs

Protecting yourself against germs will help you stay healthy and free from illness during the winter months, so it important to stick to good hygiene habits such as:

• Frequent hand washing
• Covering your mouth when you cough and sneeze
• Keeping your surroundings such as surfaces clean
• Ensuring your rooms and spaces are well-ventilated
• Wearing a face mask or a face covering

Have your NHS winter vaccinations

During the UK winter, many of us are offered NHS vaccinations to help protect us from various viruses and illness bugs. To stay well and safe in the winter, two vaccinations can make a key difference: the COVID-19 vaccination and the flu vaccination. 

We are all now familiar with the COVID-19 vaccination, which many of us have had more than one dose of already. If you can, having your COVID-19 vaccination is very important for helping you stay well and safe, particularly during the winter months.

The flu vaccination is another important NHS winter vaccination. Flu can be more serious than many of us realise, so if you are advised to get the flu vaccine you should take the advice seriously. You may be eligible for the free flu jab where you are at greater risk from the virus.

A critical part of keeping well and safe during the winter season is to look after yourself when outside in the winter months. Winter weather can cause problems which can particularly affect older people. 

For example, being outside in the winter in the UK brings the risk of:

• Slips and falls resulting in physical injuries 
• Getting too cold, which can result in pneumonia, heart attacks and strokes, amongst other effects

^{Last updated 21.10.22}