It’s getting to be that time of year when many of us are looking to stay warm as the temperatures drop. Ever since moving to the tundra of Wisconsin and dealing with the winds of the lake effect, my attention to staying warm in cold weather has become hyper-focused.
As the temperature outside decreases, body heat is lost more quickly, making it more challenging to maintain a normal body temperature. Luckily, we have some defense mechanisms built-in to help us stay warm when baby, it’s cold outside.
How your body protects itself from the cold
The first line of defense occurs right when we encounter colder temperatures. Your body automatically redistributes blood to the torso in order to keep the vital organs warm and functioning properly.
The blood vessels of the skin constrict, minimizing the amount of blood sent to areas closest to the cold. This helps to insulate the body by reducing heat loss and shunting warm blood to the core. This is one of the key ways on how the body stays warm in cold weather.
Another strategy your body uses to warm up is shivering. When your teeth chatter and your body shakes uncontrollably, it’s actually a protective response.
These rapid and rhythmic muscle contractions create heat to help maintain your internal warmth. As the cold intensifies, your body may recruit more muscles to shiver, which can feel quite intense or even uncomfortable.
This process increases body temperature by breaking down nutrients and generating warmth. In fact, shivering can increase heat production by nearly five times your resting metabolic rate, further demonstrating how the body stays warm in cold weather.
Why some people get colder than others
You may have noticed that some people get cold more easily than others. Body type plays a role in this difference. Taller people tend to lose heat faster because a larger surface area allows for a greater heat loss. Similarly, thinner people feel cold sooner because body fat acts as a natural insulation.
Subcutaneous fat that is layered just under the skin is what retains heat, unlike visceral fat that collects around internal organs. This is one of the reasons why inuit and people from polar and cold climates have evolved to be relatively shorter and more robust, as this supports better heat retention in extreme temperatures and influences how the body stays warm in cold weather.
Exercise: a natural way to warm up
One of the best ways to warm up in cold weather is simply to move your body. Physical activity generates heat as your muscles work and create energy. Muscles store a small amount of energy within, but once that is used up, they must continue producing energy to keep you moving.
In fact, when you exercise, about 80% of the energy your body creates is converted into heat, while only 20% is used for actual muscle contraction. While this is a highly effective part of how the body stays warm in cold weather, your body will start sweating in an effort to cool down.
In cold temperatures, this can become a problem for when sweat evaporates, it can increase heat loss. That’s why wearing moisture-wicking base layers is essential for safe and comfortable outdoor cold weather exercise.
Warm up with movement this winter
As temperatures are starting to fall, we have even more reason to get on our mats and keep moving. Wear layers you can shed as your body warms up and let LYT Yoga help you release the tightness that cold weather often brings.
Understanding how the body stays warm in cold weather reminds us that staying active is not only good for your body, but it’s one of the best ways to keep warm all winter long.
Staying active is not only good for your body…it’s one of the best ways to keep your body warm all winter long.
