Staying Warm As You Age
If you've been noticing that, as you age, you struggle more and more to stay warm, it's actually due to a few physiological factors.
1. Hydration. When we don't get enough water, our body starts to restrict blood flow to the skin in order to ration what we have. With that decreased circulation comes (among many things), a higher sensitivity to cold. With that, water holds heat fairly well. So, when we don't have enough of it we get cold faster. In general, older adults are at a higher risk of dehydration than the rest of the population, so make sure to get 8+ cups of water in a day to maintain health levels.
2. Lower body temperature. As we age, many parts of us start to decline. Fat layer, muscle size/density, bone density, even our skin begins to thin. With that comes a higher sensitivity and lower tolerance to cold temperatures. The best way to counteract this is through resistance training. Lifting weights increases muscle size/density, blood flow, bone density, and has many other positive effects. With those changes will come a higher resistance to cold weather.
3. Maintain a healthy weight. All the time, but especially in these colder months, restricting calories to a bare minimum will hurt more than it will help. Food is essential for many things, but you might not be aware it's also essential for body temperature. When we consume calories, it takes energy to break them down into nutrients and spread them throughout our body. Energy creates heat, so your body uses a process called thermogenesis to "burn up" calories and maintain your body temperature. Along with that, having a healthy level of fat and muscle will create an extra layer to insulate you. So, eat a nutritionally balanced diet with enough calories to keep your body working and keeping you warm.
All in all, struggling to stay warm in the winter months may seem like an unavoidable aspect of getting older. However, that's not completely true. Follow these tips, and you'll not only stay warmer in the cold, but feel and look much better than you ever thought you could.
