 Day
16,How to keep warm cold during winter...
I don't know when this first came about, but people have
become obsessed/brainwashed with the idea that their home
should be 20oc+ throughout winter. Here in the UK,
as I recall, there was a push some years ago with some branch
of the health service handing out these graphical thermometers
that labelled the temperature as "too cold - at risk", "too
warm", "just right - healthy" or something to that effect, and
around 20oc was shown as the temperature
everyone should aim their homes to be.
I am curious about who pushed for the above
chart/temperature guidelines... what if it stemmed from a
scientific study financed by the energy companies. It wouldn't
surprise me.
I have numerous issues with this guidance, lets call it
bollocks, but of course anyone that is perhaps old and frail,
or has a health condition that puts them at risk when the
weather gets chilly is not a target of this rant.
Of course, you dear reader, may also object with "hey, but
I like to be warm and comfortable", and of course some people
"feel the cold" more than others, but largely I put this down
to poor diet, a lack of exercise, and being conditioned to
live in a "warm home", and perhaps whilst lounging about in a
t-shirt.
I don't mean to single anyone out here, but this was my
experience when I stayed with my aunty and uncle for a couple
of days (and I didn't expect it to be any different); I
immediately felt too warm while they commented on how they
prefer to be in t-shirts, whilst I, in my own home, am
generally layered-up during winter. I find the same when I
step into other people's homes, as I tend to do with my work,
and often I've arrived by bicycle so I notice it more so.
The irony was when, with my aunty and uncle, we came to
watch some TV together in the evening which included a dose of
the BBC's Global Warming Spokes Person that is David
Attenborough (and I'm certainly not the first to criticise him
- there are many outside of the watchers of the BBC that
despise him), with an episode of Polar Bears on Ice, or
whatever it's called (Frozen Planet?). With each animal the
episode presented Attenborough had to include a dig about how
conditions for these animals had become harsher over recent
decades due to ice caps melting, yada-yada, and we're awww-ing
and feeling sorry for them... whilst sat, in winter, with
oil-burning central heating on, in t-shirts... I thought of
all the other such people doing similar, being emotionally
abused by Attenborough's pitty-talk, basically blaming human
beings, while also sat in similar conditions, probably
oblivious to the link.
While I don't discount climate change, nor do I choose to
sit in a cold home to necessarily save the planet, or ride a
bike rather than drive my car each day to save the planet, I
do actually think each individual plays their part... even
though, according to a recent pie chart I saw, the UK (where I
live) accounts for 1% of carbon emissions, while China (for
example) is close to 50%.
The UK, like many other countries, is offsetting its
carbon/pollution to China, by having such a mass of
manufacturing carried out there, so this isn't a fair
comparison. But still... if we all bought less crap, that
would play a part.
Quite simply, my home will not reach 20oc with
my heating on, these mornings I wake up to a temperature in
single digits and the thermometer above my computer barely
gets above 15oc - I could get my lounge warmer with
its wood burning stove, but I can't be bothered to light it
every day or keep it lit every evening. I grew up in homes
that were inadequately heated/insulated, so I'm quite used to
it, but when I consider it I think "Winter is supposed to be
cold!" I don't mean sit here actually feeling cold, but that
it feels right and ok to feel chilly at times.
During the day I will go out on my bike, and/or start the
day with a run. Upon my return I'm always well and truly
warmed up, which further avoids me putting heating on. I also
eat what I consider to be a good diet, not a bunch of
processed "meals" and refined carbohydrates that, again, the
masses seem to be brain-washed into consuming; if you're
wondering why you "feel the cold" these things could be why.
Beyond all this, as I mentioned, I layer up; I'm wearing a
fleece at the moment, and throughout the day I have been
wearing fingerless gloves along with slipper socks to keep my
feet warm. I was amused earlier when my cat meowed at me in
the kitchen and I could see his breath, he too is acclimatised
to the changing seasons.
I also think, and this has been corroborated by numerous
BBC Radio 2 Jeremy Vine Show topics on this subject, that
there are may homes that simply aren't suited to 20oc
heating; they might get mould growth, lack insulation, or the
heating system has to be pushed well beyond its range of
efficiency; I have a central heating boiler on sometimes and
it's always simply at its mid-range setting, rather than
maximum and I have no room thermostats.
Some further tips:
Keep yourself acclimatised all year round to the seasons;
don't live in a bubble that cuts you off from the reality -
the weather changes, this is normal for many areas of the
planet.
Don't stay up late; it gets colder during the evenings and
night time. By going to bed with the sun, and waking up with
it, and getting outside more, will increase your exposure to
sunlight and increase your body's production of Vitamin D
which is great for your health and overall mood and
well-being.
Feel free to share your
views with me on this topic!
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