WELLCARE Blog for Business

Imagine that you are sitting at your office desk, bundled in a coat that you hope will keep you warm enough so that your teeth stop chattering. You find yourself struggling to type out a document that you need to finish for work, but it feels as though the cold has seeped deep inside your bones.

It’s at that point when you overhear someone from across the room say: “It’s a little warm here, isn’t it?” You end up staring at your companion’s direction in disbelief, wondering how they can feel warm when you are all but freezing.

If you have ever found yourself in a situation where you nearly ended up fighting over something as simple as a thermostat, you don’t have to worry. You are not alone in this dilemma.

Weather preferences and temperature thresholds vary from person to person. This can explain why you are more sensitive to feeling the shifts in heat or cold compared to family members or your peers. In fact, research conducted in the Autumn of 2018 by Workthere yielded that 46% of office workers in the UK identify cold office temperatures as the culprit for unproductiveness.

To add to that, what is more noteworthy is that 17% of the survey respondents disclosed that they often resort to bringing personal heaters to the office. Can you imagine the additional electricity costs just because office temperatures are not suitable? This just illustrates the lengths that people would go to in order to stay warm.

Myths around keeping warm that you need to watch out for

A regulated body temperature directly affects your body’s immunity. It contributes to your body’s ability to fight off infections or viruses. If nothing else, this emphasizes the importance of staying warm - especially during seasons like winter.

However, it is important that you follow methods that are proven as both safe and effective. You have to remember that while there are practical tips, there are also myths and fallacies handed down from generations past on how to stay warm.

Some of you may have heard your parents say that you should not use a fan when it is cold, because this spreads air around and decreases the temperature further. However, research shows that with proper use and adjusted settings, fans can actually effectively spread heat around your room.

Since hot air is less dense, it rises to the ceiling. Whereas cold air, which is more dense, sinks nearer to the ground. If you run your fan with it’s settings reversed, this can help push down the cooler air closer to the ground and in effect, pull down warmer air from the ceiling.

Another misleading method is the belief that the consumption of alcohol during cooler months helps people to stay warm. Russians, for example, experience really harsh winters. They have been known to knock back a few drinks especially when coming in from the cold.

Now, while it is true that alcohol gives you a sensation of feeling warmer, what you might not be aware of is that your core body temperature can actually experience a drop. This can even increase your chances of hypothermia. Beyond this, being drunk impairs your judgement, doubling your risks of getting hurt. Research shows that 10% of hypothermia deaths in a decade had alcohol consumption involved.

How do you stay warm in winter

Alongside these myths, there are also legitimate and effective ways to combat the cold season. But with so many tips to be found with a simple and quick internet search, information overload can be inevitable.

To help you break down some of the things you can do, here are 6 of the best ways to stay warm in the winter:

1.Remember to regulate temperatures in your home

Maintaining temperatures in your home is key in helping you stay warm. If you have the resources, it would be best to heat most of the rooms you use during the day to at least 16°C (61°F) while your main living room should be between 18-21°C (64-70°C).

If you don’t have the luxury to heat all your rooms, prioritize your living room and bedroom. Keep your living room warm during the day and heat your bedroom right before you go to bed. Just be sure to allow proper ventilation to avoid accidents.

You can also invest in smart devices to help you automate temperature regulation. Today’s thermostats, for example, can be programmed to either turn up or turn down the heat, depending on when you’re going to be at home. Beyond reducing your energy bills, this also helps you to pursue a more sustainable lifestyle that reduces wasted energy and therefore benefit our planet.

2.Check your heating systems regularly

Similar to well-oiled engines, it is important for you to consider regularly maintaining your home’s heating systems. Cleaning your radiators or your boiler helps them last longer, operate at optimum levels, and prevent rust formation.

We recommend that you also schedule routine checks to make sure it is still up to industry standards. Doing so can help you ensure that your system won’t malfunction in the middle of the night when no one can immediately repair it. This helps you lessen the chances of an abnormal surge in your electricity bills or the risk of your home accidentally catching a house fire.

3.Lock out the cold to insulate your home

During warmer seasons, it is practice to open a window or a door to allow the cool and fresh breeze indoors. However, it is advisable and more economical to keep these closed to keep out the cold during wintertime.

Close your windows and doors to encourage better insulation at home. You can use keyholes to block draughts or DIY your very own a “door snake” to prevent heat from escaping from under your entryways.

Another alternative to consider is to use curtains as an eco-friendly way to keep heat inside your home! Hanging heavy draperies and adding thermal linings can serve as protective layers that insulate your house.

4.Adopt a healthy mindset and take care of your body

Boosting your blood circulation helps control your body’s temperature. One good way of doing this would be to keep moving. Make sure you don’t sit around for extended lengths at a time and schedule short exercises throughout your day. Take walks around your neighborhood or search for home workouts on YouTube.

If you find yourself seated for long periods, make sure to put your feet up since the cooler air tends to be nearest to the ground. Again, making an effort to move at least once in an hour is also good. This relieves back pain and encourages overall circulation.

Of course, pursuing regular exercise needs to go hand-in-hand with good nutrition. You need to eat well to be able to live well. Keep yourself hydrated by taking frequent sips of water and always remember to take your meals at the correct times.

There are a number of food varieties that are effective at warming you up. This includes soups, stews, or porridge which are also inexpensive and easy to prepare and store.

5.Always dress appropriately for the weather

Instead of wearing a single piece of thick garment, it is advisable to wear several thin fabrics. Layering your clothing allows you more freedom and flexibility to remove or add as much as the temperature requires.

Consider clothing that is made of wool or synthetic fleece material. And when you need to go outside, always make sure to put on clothes that help you stay warm from head to toe.

6.Prepare other heat sources

If you’re extremely sensitive to the cold, you can also keep other heat sources - like heat packs and hot water bottles - handy. These are usually heated manually through other kitchen appliances and are placed close enough to the body for heat exposure.

Remember that when you use these heat sources, these should have containers or at least be wrapped in cloth not only to preserve the heat longer, but to help you avoid burning yourself as well.

Maintaining warm sleeping conditions

Sleep is a vital part of our daily routine and our bedroom's thermostat should be set to help us get a restful sleep. According to a 2012 Journal on the effects of thermal environment on sleep and circadian rhythm, the thermal environment greatly impacts a person’s sleeping patterns. Its most common effects include increased wakefulness, decreased rapid eye movement during sleep, and slow wave sleep.

How to stay warm in bed for good quality sleep

1.Adjust your thermostat settings

Always remember to check your settings before going to sleep to make sure it’s set to the proper temperature. While people may have different preferences, keeping room temperature between 15.6-19.4°C (60-77°F) is ideal during the cold nights.

Check that any windows in your home are closed and sealed so that unexpected gusts of wind won’t disturb you in the middle of the night.

If you wake up in the morning with sweat pooling at the back of your shirt, you may need to consider lowering your thermostat for the next evening. Just like the cold, keeping your room at warmer temperatures can negatively affect your health.

Consider purchasing proper insulation. Beyond being a good investment, having good insulation in your home helps you both regulate temperatures and save on heating and electric bills.

2.Use appropriate beddings and clothes when sleeping

Switch out your beddings when seasons change so that you have appropriate sheets when the colder seasons come. A cozy comforter, even an additional blanket, would be a great investment especially if you find that you tend to get cold easily.

Take special care of your extremities. If your feet get cold quickly, prepare socks that you can use at bedtime. Remember to choose ones that have just the right fit so as not to disrupt the blood flow of your legs. If it’s your arms and hands that concern you, wear comfortable long-sleeved shirts before going to bed.

3.Use an electric blanket

For places with strong winters like Europe and North America, using an electric blanket is an effective and convenient way to warm up. These blankets generate heat and consequently trap it, conveniently providing you with the extra warmth that you need.

When choosing a heated electric blanket that best fits your needs, here are some features that you can look out for:

• Must be made with comfortable, high-quality fabric
• Must have controllers so you can easily adjust the temperature
• Must have a foot warmer since this is one of the body parts that gets cold easily
• Must be washable or and easy to clean
• Must be an electric blanket made with highly breathable technology
  (This is easy to identify, you will see numerous holes pierced through the electric blankets. These holes releases warmth flow from the blanket and merges with cool air. This technology balances the temperature and remove any discomfort caused by stuffiness.)

Experience warmth the Wellcare way

Wellcare 4D DWF technology focuses on the 4th dimension, which refers to the dynamic warmth flow that is created as heat is released from the holes and merges with cold air.

The good news is, Wellcare electric blankets have features to meet your specific needs. Designed with special 4D Dynamic Warmth Flow (4D DWF) technology, our electric blankets are the ideal warming solution for the colder seasons.

Our system mimics the human body’s internal breathing and ensures that heat is distributed evenly throughout the blanket’s surface, so that you can rest easy throughout the night.

Wellcare’s signature BBC design decreases the temperature between your core body temperature and surface body temperature. This creates the best bed climate that helps us sleep better at night.

The Wellcare electric blanket comes with premium-quality fleece material, an additional foot warmer and dual controls that enable you to adjust the temperature according to your preferences. It is the ideal solution to help you stay warm this winter.

As the colder months approach, it’s time to keep our bodies healthy and strong against the possibility of illness. By using an electric blanket, maintaining a healthy diet, scheduling short exercises throughout the day and getting the right amount of sleep, you can beat the cold and enjoy warm nights until summer comes back around.

At Wellcare, we believe in advocating spreading care to everyone around us. With the help of our innovative 4D DWF technology, we are on a mission to let each of our customers experience warmth the Wellcare way. If you’re interested to become a distributor of our electric blankets, click on the button below and get in touch with our team!