5 Tips for Seniors to Stay Warm in the Winter

During the winter months, staying warm may seem like a challenge, especially if you spend time outdoors regularly or have a drafter home. With seniors being more vulnerable to extreme temperatures, it is important that you take precautions to keep yourself and your home warm. If you think ahead and make changes to your house and lifestyle, you can make sure you are ready for cooler temperatures.

1. Focus on hands, feet, and face

You’ve probably heard this before, but the old adage about keeping your feet, hands and face warm in the wintertime have some truth. Heat can escape your body if you don’t keep your ears, cheeks, palms and soles warm. Cardiovascular responses cause the body to lose heat in cold temperatures. By wearing gloves, warm socks, insulated boots, hats or ear muffs and a warm coat when you go outside can help keep your body warm.

2. Layer your clothing

Layering may feel uncomfortable, but it can help keep you toasty warm, especially during the winter months. If you go outside during fall and winter, you can layer by wearing a sweater and warm fleece or wool jacket, putting on long underwear under your pants and wearing multiple pairs of socks. Layering can allow you to trap body heat for longer periods of time. You may need to take off a few layers if you go into a heated indoor space, it is better to take off clothing than to risk hypothermia. Try to start adding more layers to your wardrobe gradually, as temperatures start to go down.

3. Cuddle up by the fire

In the past, people sat by fires to get warm for a reason. While most homes are heated these days, sitting at home by a fire is still an effective way to keep your body temperature up during the winter. Having a fireplace or portable heater can be especially handy if your power goes out in winter, and nothing makes you feel more in the spirit of holidays than sitting by a fire.

4. Have a warm drink or bite to eat

Having a hot bowl of soup or a steaming cup of hot tea, cocoa or coffee on a cold day is always an effective way to warm up. Certain foods and drinks can help you to increase your body’s temperature and feel more relaxed in the wintertime. It is important to drink plenty of liquids during winters because you may get dehydrated during colder months of the year.

5. Winterize your home

Before winter hits, make sure that your home is ready for the season. You can do this by having your insulation checked in each room, having double glazing put on your windows, adding extra blankets on your bed, getting your furnace filters changed out, having maintenance done or replacing your furnace, getting a programmable thermostat, having your gutters cleaned out and putting throw rugs down on tile floors. You don’t have to do everything all at once, but you should start thinking about winterizing your home in the fall, especially if you live on the East Coast or in the Midwest. By preparing your home for winter, you can also lower your energy costs. For more information, visit Home Care Assistance of Phoenix.