Winter has arrived, bringing longer nights and colder days. Now is the time to make the most of the heat, so Carelink24 – your favourite personal alarm provider – brings you five ways to keep warm when nature turns cold.
It may not seem significant, but a cold home can have a serious negative impact on your health, especially if you're over the age of 65. With these tips you can stave off the chills and enjoy a comfortable winter.
Focus on You Before the House
It's far easier to warm up your body than it is to warm up a room. You're smaller and you generate heat. An extra layer or two can make all the difference when things get nippy.
Your body loses heat fastest through parts that are exposed, so gloves and hats can massively mitigate the discomfort of a cold day. Wrapping yourself up in a blanket is also an effective means of trapping heat. Try to tuck it under your legs for extra warmth.
Eat and Drink Well
Your body needs energy to keep warm, and food and drink are vital sources of energy. Hot meals and drinks at regular intervals throughout the day ensure that your body has enough energy to stay warm. Plus, the heat of the food and drink themselves will have a mild warming effect on the body.
Alcohol, however, is deceptive. One drink may make you feel warmer, but it actually lowers your body temperature.
In moderate doses, alcohol is a vasodilator, meaning it opens up your blood vessels. This brings warm blood close to the surface of your skin, making you feel warmer, but causing your body to lose core heat, potentially exacerbating the negative effects of the cold.
Change Your Curtains
Even with double glazing, a lot of heat can escape via your windows, so the best course of action is to replace thin, summery curtains with thick drapes in winter. This prevents heat from escaping, helping your home, and by extension you, keep warm.
Make Your Bed
Ordering your duvets and blankets correctly can minimise heat loss when you're in bed. Fluffier blankets should be closest to your body, with thinner, more dense blankets at the top. The fluffy blankets help trap your body heat next to you, ensuring a warm, comfy night's sleep.
Physical Activity
This could be anything from doing half an hour of exercise to simply getting up to cook or make a cup of tea. The important thing is to keep active and not to sit still for too long.
Of course, exercise is ideal, as it can both keep you warm and bring you a whole host of other health benefits.
Also Worth Knowing - Cold Weather Benefits
You may also be eligible to receive Government help with heating your home. These benefits come in two forms: a winter fuel payment and a cold weather payment.
You are eligible for a winter fuel payment of £250-£600 to help with heating bills if your birthday is on or before the 25th of September 1957.
To qualify for a cold weather payment, you must be receiving Pension Credit, Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or Universal Credit. If eligible, you can receive a payment of £25 for every seven-day period of sub-zero temperatures.
We hope this list proves useful! Don't forget to take a look at our personal alarm guide to find out more about our life-saving service.
Editor's Note: This article was updated on 13th November 2023 to reflect current information.
