To say ‘put a bloody jumper on’?

[Bookishnerd]

We have a wood burner, and twice this week I’ve come into the living room to find my DH has started a fire… but he’s wearing boxers or shorts or ‘summer clothes’.

We have quite a warm house and it gets roasting upstairs. We bought extra logs this winter to heat the downstairs only, as it doesn’t take much for heat to rise and it to get too hot.

It’s been chilly the last few days, and I’m not a miser - if he’s cold, put the fire on, no problem.

But put a jumper on first?! Get dressed?! Don’t waste energy and money?

When I mentioned it to him, he brushed me off with a shrug and a ‘meh’.

I don’t like being cold and I don’t like wearing lots of layers and sitting under a blanket while watching TV however you can have a reasonable compromise. Surely a sweater, long trousers, socks and slippers help to feel warm. If they are not enough of course the heating should be on.

People who can't get warm - have you had your blood pressure checked lately?

Not generating heat (even when you have layers on) can be a low blood pressure problem. You need blood to carry the heat out to your extremities so if your body is struggling to get the blood around your body effectively it'll keep your organs warm because they're in the important bit, close to the heart, but give up on the far away bits.

(Which is why old people can sometimes complain of feeling cold on belting hot days.)

Unfortunately I can't give advice beyond that, because Drs faced with low blood pressure tend to shrug a bit unless it comes with actual fainting and stuff but I thought it might help to know you're not crazy.

My personal theory is that when cold, you restrict the blood supply to your extremities to conserve your core temperature (well, that part is fact) so they don’t get the blood supply to get warm again without external heat (no matter how many jumpers I wear) and although it’s a good survival strategy so I won’t die (thanks, body) it’s deeply unpleasant. It’s also not in any way subjective or ‘weak’ as some people seem to imply. There is a measurable temperature decrease in my hands, feet and nose, and it’s a physiological response I can’t control, that produces the feeling of being cold.

I am so not looking forward to this winter.

Jogging on the spot, a blitz clean or mopping the floor is great for raising the body temperature.

Extra layers should be enough if you're able bodied unless you've no windows or roof. 😳

I might buy an indoor hat too.

Blowing your hot breath down your cleavage or into your hands helps.

Joking aside I don't know how the elderly or sick will manage to stop freezing this winter. 😪

I don't want to pay massive bills so I put the jumper on. I'd love to feel warmer but that's how it is right now. If others can afford it, that is up to them.

I understand, but it only happened to me when I was very underweight (bmi 14/15) with anorexia as a teenager. Or when I've been going hot and cold with a fever.

I handle hot temperatures better than most too. As in summer heat, I'm comfortable up to 35. I hate overly warm heated houses as that is different heat.

Some of these comments are hilarious!
Not being able to keep warm when it’s 17°C is quite the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard.
I seaswim in Scotland 1-2 times a week all year round with no wetsuit. Bizarrely, I am able to get warm post swim by layering up, having a hot drink after and moving around a little.
We’re mammals and it’s called thermogenesis.

@Whattochoosenow Yes, healthy people should be able to adapt to temperature changes. Of course there are people who struggle to, but it is likely indicative of a health issue. I would not tell my 88 year old DGM to put a second jumper on if she is cold at 20 degrees, though I have tried to talk her into an electric throw.

I expect the people who don’t understand are the same people who will say ‘I hate being hot

Not in my case. I can stay comfortable at both ends of the thermometer. I absolutely love very warm weather.

That said, it’s obvious from the multitude of “lt’s too hot/cold” threads on here that not everybody is so lucky.

Absolutely.

Wrapping up works best when you're still warm enough to have good circulation in your extremities. Trapping warm air from your body when it's reached the stage of focusing on keeping your core warm is too late and very slow and inefficient without external heat.

I have a thermometer in the lounge and use that to objectively think about is heat required or do I need to adjust my behaviour.

Last autumn I bought a heated throw for those times when the house is cool but not quite needing additional heat, and I've come in with cold skin and need a burst of heat input to warm up again.
Feet are bastards to warm up as they sweat too easily and can often get cold and sweaty in excess socks/ slippers without actually warming up, and they will only warm up when the rest of my body is happy.

Rushing to light fires/ put heating on when you're wearing minimal clothing is bonkers and wasteful though.

Some of these comments are hilarious!
Not being able to keep warm when it’s 17°C is quite the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard.
I seaswim in Scotland 1-2 times a week all year round with no wetsuit. Bizarrely, I am able to get warm post swim by layering up, having a hot drink after and moving around a little.We’re mammals and it’s called thermogenesis.
Then of course you can’t empathise with people being cold if your body has adapted to sea swimming all year round!!!

I have really low blood pressure and really feel the cold. I did go to the Dr becauseI g, however, they just told me t

Agh posted too soon. I went to the Dr because I loose my vision and feel faint if I stand up too quickly. They just told me to stand up slower.
Anyway I am often cold. I have just had to put the heating on as I am still cold wearing two jumpers and fluffy slippers.

My blood pressure is always low too.
Prone to anaemia etc, but don’t always have it.
Drs have always told me they’re not too worried about low pressure, it’s high they worry about.

DD is the same, we’ll be shivering and DP/DS will be sat in T-shirts with the windows open as they’re too hot. (Not with heating on btw lol)

Am checking for under active thyroid atm, as that also seems to run in the family.

Good grief -

Activity makes you warm

You couldn't stay in the sea all day - exhaustion would kick in - and you would be able to swim more in a heated pool than the sea before getting exhausted

The young and the old need temperatures above 17 to be healthy - they may survive but not thrive below that (NHS)

Cold air affects your lungs as you breathe - blankets are great for the chill but won't help protect health when the air breathing in is too cold

I mean yes - clothes before heating and exercise / movement before heating but for health 18 to 20 is probably the right region , warmer for very old people

I’m sure this may sound odd as well, but when I was younger when my feet used to get really cold, she’d put two or three pairs of socks on me, but as I’ve got older I find they warm up quicker if I take my socks off completely.

Assume it’s something to do with socks putting pressure on feet and constricting blood flow and relieving the pressure by removing them allows the blood to flow better

FurAndFeathers · Yesterday 13:37
YellowTreeHouse · Yesterday 10:42
YABVU. I’m not wrapping up in my own home. We have it no lower than 22 and on chillier nights the fire is going. I never wear a jumper inside.
And that is exactly why the planet is fucked and people have astronomical heating bills.

bonkers that folk would rather pay £500 quid a month than wear a jumper“

yep, this. More money than sense.

She could have a medical condition.

Some like iron deficiency anaemia are very common, so you feel colder than you should do even if you are active/athletic.

I think this is just as bonkers, just the other way. I am not wearing leggings and jeans in my own house- that sound pretty uncomfortable.

I'll wear leggings, slippers, a jumper, a fleece or dressing gown but I'm not going to walk around the like Michelin man. If I am still cold with a that on then i will put on the heating.