Keeping warm

I m still sea swimming and firmly believe that a cold water dip is good for you retread both my grannies lived to late 80 s and my mum 90 and we were all brought up with ice on the windows
Where I think it IS dangerous is if peoples bodies have been used to 22* or more and then have to dip under 18* but if you ve always lived under that surely you’re body adapts like those living in very cold countries or very hot ones too

But how come Wim Hof (the man who sits in ice baths) says that cold is good for cardiovascular health? And he is a popular speaker at scientific and medical conferences.

I got a leaflet telling me that older people should not let the indoor temperature drop below 18 degrees. That would be cold for me - I like about 22 to be confortable.

As I run a business from home I am looking forward to offloading part of my broadband and utility costs onto the tax man as a legitimate deductable.

Ive put enough into the system in the past so its time to claw back what I can,

I have no heating in my house except one gas fire in my main room in my kitchen my vegetable oil often turns solid 😀 in mid winter but I dress accordingly the only times my fingers go white is when I go for my sea dips
I don’t think it’s the NHS s place to prescribe heating how can they do that when there is no money for operations
There’s no way I could heat my whole house for just one person so I heat one room I ve lived here for 40 years and my Nan before me

I popped in on a friend (in her 50s? I think) at the weekend (she has been unwell) and the house was really cold - no heating on and the back door open. She said it was to ventilate the house! I wasn't sure what to do other than offer her some coal and a heated blanket! I know it's the cost of gas that is stopping her putting the heating on. We had a hard frost that night.
The Gloucester trial with GPs prescribing heating is so sensible!!

Shinmae still not high enough. At least at 18, preferably 20.

My thermostat was on 16.5 but have put it up to 17…

They did a trial in Gloucester,helping people with their heating and found it caused a drop in hospital admissions. Surprise surprise.
Being repeated elsewhere.

yes I agree, breathing cold air in to the body core is the biggest factor towards illness. Exactly the reason I do not go cycling in cold weather any more. Growing up as a child is no comparison to being old with degrading bodies and organs and poor adaptability. Fact of life is that we need external heat to be as healthy as possible

I am using my government heating allowance exactly for that, to keep me warm

argymargy indeed death rates of elderly, sick and the young was very much higher in the winter - back in those days of badly heated homes. Sadly, death rates for those groups still increase each winter - and will probably be even higher this year due to the sickening hike in energy costs to our homes.

It is also important to realise that just warming the body with clothing etc. is not really a good way of preventing illness as it the temperature of the air being breathed is also a big factor.

This year, there has been help towards these extra obscene costs - do hope people will use that money to ensure that there homes are heated during daytime to about twenty degrees.

All these scientific reports about the effects of cold temperatures completely ignore the fact that many of us grew up in poorly heated houses and without the high quality clothes we have now. Without duvets at night, just a couple of blankets and a hot water bottle if it was freezing. If the effects were so dramatic then surely we would be dead by now.

A statement like “10c is the winter temperature of an unheated home” is pure nonsense and discredits the rest of the report. A home where? Scotland? South East? North West? Day or night?With what kind of insulation? What about cold snaps or mild periods?

I have not had any heat in my house until yesterday when I put my gas fire on for two hours
I wear extra layers and a blanket and hot water bottle when
I m sitting in the evening
I ll be glad when spring comes seems a long way away

I won`t be cold, felt cool last night and this morning, so have upped my house temperatures a bit. The cold wet dismal november weather is not helping

Mokryna he explained that in order for the sensors to be attached to his body for the readings, he had to wear a shirt and shorts.

WWM2 I sent a copy of that BBC article to MzOops who lives in a cottage where she considers 15degrees to be ‘balmy’.

I explained that it doesn’t do her or her cottage any good to be so cold, but she insists she has to wear coat, hat, scarves and gloves indoors because she can’t afford the price of installing heating into the place. Although after speaking to me she said she would light the wood burner in the sitting room, put the oven on, cook some hot food and warm the kitchen at the same time.

I hope she isn’t storing up trouble for her future health.

My DH has heart problems and he has been recommended by his Dr and indeed it is on the NHS site that for the elderly, sick and young the optimum temperature is 21c.

The young man was fit and healthy.

This should be seen as a warning for the elderly, the sick and young.

my son, dil and two kids all have teletubbie onesies, they facetimed me and i could not stop laughing, they had to turn the heating off as they got too warm, my mum got a snoodie and she loves it, she wanted to get me one but i don't like the heat and it would be too warm for me (i am sitting in glasgow and it's 6c in my t-shirt and pj bottoms.

Whitewavemark2

Anyone see the report by the BBC about how the human body copes with cold?

At 21c the body copes well and functions normally.

At 18c it begins to start up its defence system - its aim is to keep
the bodies core temperature at 37c. You will no longer be sweating ( that doesn’t means from being too hot, but normal sweat) and the hairs on your body will now stand up.

18c is the tipping point, and your body now begins to work to keep warm.

From now on your body has to work hard - Next your fingers turn white and they feel cold. The blood vessels in your hands are being closed off - known as vasoconstriction - in order to keep your warm blood for your critical organs.

The first shiver kicks in at 11.5C as your muscles begin to shake to generate heat.

10c is the winter temperature of an unheated home, but your body feels the effect from 18c and below.

Blood flow to the brain is reduced by 20%

Mean arterial blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) up from 99 to 110 mmHg

Heart rate up from 55 to 65 beats per minute.

Breaths up fro 9 to 12 per minute.

Core temperature remains at 37c but extremities like hands, feet, legs and arms as well as skin temperature drops by 2c

"You're delivering less blood to the brain, so there's less oxygen and less glucose [sugar] getting into the brain and the downside of that is it's having a negative impact on your mental gymnastics,"

Imagine a child doing homework in this temperature or someone suffering from dementia.

So pumping warm blood around your body more intensely with the heart beating faster and blood pressure also shooting up.

That increasing blood pressure is a risk factor for a stroke, it's a risk factor for a heart attack,"

The blood itself is also changing "so it becomes a bit like treacle", says Prof Bailey, and this thicker gloopier blood also adds to the risk of a dangerous blockage.

That is why heart attacks and strokes are more common in winter.

At these cooler temperatures, your immune response becomes less active and this can allow virus to grow better within your nose."

So if you can’t afford to heat your home to the optimum temperature of 21c - and it is even more important as you age or/and have underlying health issues

Some tips.

Focus on pure wool clothing and layers.

Gloves and wool socks are important, but a hat will help as well

Eat high calorific foods.

If you can generate more heat by being as active as possible.

Thank you. Justifies my thermometer setting.

I am being used to remove image so I can’t post it and the photo has now been replace on the BBC site. The man in the original photo is in shorts and an open necked, rolled up sleeves shirt. In short the clothing is what we would wear in a heatwave.

That was interesting Whitewave. I really feel the cold and reading that makes me feel less guilty about keeping my house at 21 degrees. I recently bought a ‘sauna in a bag’ because I miss having a sauna at the gym. I’ve read up on how good saunas are for you ( if you don’t have any health problems that is): how they increase heart rate and blood flow etc. I’ve been using my sauna for a few days now and feel really good for it. I also carry on feeling warm for ages afterwards even after having a cooling shower.

I.m having posting problems

Whitewavemark2 When the experiment was carried out the man was not dressed for cold weather. See photo.
It will frighten people who are unable to heat as they would like.
However, further down the same article there were recommendations
^What can you actually do about it?
.. tips are:
focus on clothes that provide good insulation such as those made of wool
gloves and warm socks are more important than a hat (but a woolly hat will help too)
switch foods to a higher carbohydrate diet
generate more body heat by moving around and not just sitting in a chair and watching TV.^

Mine is by Prosmart - and when I bought it about four years ago it was about £40 but I see that they are now £80 + Amazon have masses of them all different makes and it would be worth looking at the reviews. Mine has been great - it has a spare battery pack and the heat lasts for several hours.

Anyone see the report by the BBC about how the human body copes with cold?

At 21c the body copes well and functions normally.

At 18c it begins to start up its defence system - its aim is to keep
the bodies core temperature at 37c. You will no longer be sweating ( that doesn’t means from being too hot, but normal sweat) and the hairs on your body will now stand up.

18c is the tipping point, and your body now begins to work to keep warm.

From now on your body has to work hard - Next your fingers turn white and they feel cold. The blood vessels in your hands are being closed off - known as vasoconstriction - in order to keep your warm blood for your critical organs.

The first shiver kicks in at 11.5C as your muscles begin to shake to generate heat.

10c is the winter temperature of an unheated home, but your body feels the effect from 18c and below.

Blood flow to the brain is reduced by 20%

Mean arterial blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) up from 99 to 110 mmHg

Heart rate up from 55 to 65 beats per minute.

Breaths up fro 9 to 12 per minute.

Core temperature remains at 37c but extremities like hands, feet, legs and arms as well as skin temperature drops by 2c

"You're delivering less blood to the brain, so there's less oxygen and less glucose [sugar] getting into the brain and the downside of that is it's having a negative impact on your mental gymnastics,"

Imagine a child doing homework in this temperature or someone suffering from dementia.

So pumping warm blood around your body more intensely with the heart beating faster and blood pressure also shooting up.

That increasing blood pressure is a risk factor for a stroke, it's a risk factor for a heart attack,"

The blood itself is also changing "so it becomes a bit like treacle", says Prof Bailey, and this thicker gloopier blood also adds to the risk of a dangerous blockage.

That is why heart attacks and strokes are more common in winter.

At these cooler temperatures, your immune response becomes less active and this can allow virus to grow better within your nose."

So if you can’t afford to heat your home to the optimum temperature of 21c - and it is even more important as you age or/and have underlying health issues

Some tips.

Focus on pure wool clothing and layers.

Gloves and wool socks are important, but a hat will help as well

Eat high calorific foods.

If you can generate more heat by being as active as possible.