Chicago Home and Lifestyles – Keeping warm at home
If you live in a warm climate, good for you! But most of us live where it is cold for many months every year. Many of us are also still working the majority of our time at home. Unfortunately, energy prices have been going nowhere but up. When we were gone most of the day it was easy to just lower the thermostat, but now we need to stay warm while plugging away at the laptop.
When you are in a cold room the skin’s cold receptors cause the blood vessels in the skin to contract and send blood beneath the skin’s fat layer. Hands and feet have little fat and need blood flow to stay warm so of course these extremities will feel the cold first. If the cooling continues it can affect nerves, joints and muscles. You can lose dexterity and speed of movement. Just feeling cold can be a distraction.
So, you can say, I’ll just put on more clothes, and that’s good but you need to maintain your core temperature. Woolen clothing like sweaters and leggings trap millions of tiny pockets of air that provide insulation. Thermal underwear is great, there are so many options now, but layering works just as well. Throw a blanket over your legs or use an electric blanket, it’s all about keeping the heat from escaping the extremities to keep the core temp up. Keep those hands and feet warm. Fingerless gloves are great, even putting your hands in your armpits work when you’re not typing. Insulating socks and slippers work well to keep your feet warm. Heat goes out through your head too as your brain requires a lot of blood flow. Wear a scarf to keep that heat in that is trying to escape from underneath your clothing. Exercise too can raise your body temp, as little as going up and down a couple stairs can generate 100 watts of heat!
We all should know how to dress and keep our hands and feet warm, but there are a couple of things that can help that you might not have thought of. Drafts will make you feel even colder than you really are. So, try to make your house as draft free as possible, which helps with the heat bill too. Staying hydrated is also important, ensuring blood flow to the extremities. Warm drinks feel comforting but don’t do that much for the core temp. Make sure to eat! Sometimes when working from home we put off eating. Eat at least a snack every 3 hours or so. Something high in protein and complex carbs; cheese and nuts, for example. Stress can reduce blood flow, so try to avoid it (if you can). If you feel stressed, get up and do some exercise. Bundle up and take a brisk walk around the block.
Heating just the space you’re in is much cheaper than heating the whole house. There are many portable heaters available that are safe and energy efficient. They are much better than the old-fashioned ones that could literally set the house on fire. So try these tips and stay warm while keeping those energy bills in check.
Kathleen Weaver-Zech and Dean’s Team Chicago
