Winter illnesses
In winter, cold weather and spending more time indoors mean illnesses spread more easily. These can impact our health...
Keeping your hands and feet warm helps to keep your whole body warm, and keeping warm in winter is especially important as we get older because the cold affects us more than it used to.
We've outlined our tips to help you stay warm as the weather gets colder.
Wearing several thin layers of clothing will keep you warmer than one thick layer because the layers trap warm air between them.
Most of your body heat is lost through your head so it's a good idea to wear a warm hat that covers your ears when you're out and about.
Use a hot-water bottle or a wheat bag when you're in bed. Alternatively, you can use an electric blanket to warm the bed – but make sure to never use a hot-water bottle and an electric blanket together, because this is dangerous.
Moving around generates heat to help keep your body, hands and feet warm. If you're indoors, try standing up and walking around the room a few times. It's important you find something that works for you. For example, if you have limited mobility, you might be able to stay seated and move your arms around to get warm.
If you’re sitting down, a shawl or blanket will provide a lot of warmth.
We have advice to help you make your home more energy efficient and information on where to turn if you're struggling to pay your heating bills.
There's lots you can do to keep your hands warm during the winter months. We've listed some of our top tips below.
Gloves made of wool, leather or synthetic material with insulating properties are best for keeping your hands warm. But it can get quite wet over winter and when your gloves get wet they transfer heat from your hands to the air, so it's very important to have a pair of waterproof gloves as well.
Minimise any gaps between your gloves and your clothing so that cold air can’t get in and you trap as much heat as possible.
Warm air needs to be able to circulate round your fingers so it’s important to make sure your gloves aren’t too tight. You should be able to comfortably move your fingers around. Wiggling your fingers also stimulates blood flow to keep your hands warm.
No one likes having cold feet, and keeping your feet warm helps keep your whole body warm. We've outlined some of our top tips below.
Make sure to always wear socks, slippers or shoes around the house. If your feet get cold at night, then go to bed wearing socks.
If your socks or feet get wet, heat is transferred away from them, so make sure to wear dry waterproof shoes when you go out.
If you're sat down, keep your feet up on a stool – hot air rises, so floor level is likely to be the coldest part of a room. If you're at home, try and move your legs around to keep blood circulating to your feet.
Wear woolly socks or socks containing an insulating material in the winter to keep your feet warm.
We offer support through our free advice line on 0800 678 1602. Lines are open 8am-7pm, 365 days a year. We also have specialist advisers at over 120 local Age UKs.
The development of this information was supported by an educational grant from Seqirus.
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