Slippery surfaces, less daylight, and cold temperatures can be deterrents for exercising outside or going to the gym, but Washington County Hospital and Clinics offers some ideas on how to stay active without putting on your winter boots.

There are many benefits to having regular physical activity. Among them it can help you sleep better and reduce anxiety, improve balance, and lower the risk of type 2 diabetes and many kinds of cancers according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adults are recommended to get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity physical activity, which can include walking, running, or wheelchair rolling. While sedentary activities can be easy to slip into this winter, WCHC Physical Therapist Nicole Naraine shares some ways residents can break up the monotony, “This can be as easy as maybe taking a couple laps around your house every hour or so or if you have a stationary bike or treadmill that’s a great way to stay active inside instead of having to go out. And even some seated or standing exercises for your arms and legs just to keep things moving and flexible.”

Other productive physical activities to do this winter can include housework like vacuuming, sweeping, and cleaning, volunteering such as walking dogs for elderly neighbors or shoveling snow, and weather permitting, taking a daytime walk around a safe neighborhood or park.