eli5: Why is covering your ears in the cold so important for not getting sick?

Question

eli5: Why is covering your ears in the cold so important for not getting sick?

In: Biology

Answer 1

This sounds like a superstition that has been passed onto you as a fact.

There is nothing directly related to the cold that makes us more likely to get sick. The reason we generally get sick more often in the winter is that we spend more time inside and around other people, meaning we are more likely to pass illnesses onto each other.

Some people find that the cold weather can give them earache, so they cover their ears when out in the cold to avoid this. But this still isn’t the same as getting sick.