By Barb Nadeau –
We already have braved some of the most brutal days of the Winter this year, but there is still the potential for more cold days ahead.
Knowing how to stay safe and warm is important for everyone, but seniors may need special considerations. Let us look at things we can do to help our bodies, inside our homes, and out in the environment.
We all tend to become rather sedentary, and it can be hard to become motivated in the Winter months. It can be especially easy for the elderly to fall into bad habits of staying inside, forgoing bathing, not exercising, or relying on just sweaters, or blankets, to stay warm.
It is important to remember some key points to keeping healthy. First, make sure you eat enough food to keep up your weight. If you do not eat well, you might have less fat under your skin, and body fat helps you to stay warm. Many isolated elderly tend to veer towards hoarding food and food insecurity, to save their food items for another day, which is dangerous. Food needs to be eaten for the body to stay warm. A calorie is a unit of heat, after all. Eating food will bring up the body temperature, and give your digestive tract some work to do. Body fat helps us maintain heat.
Some foods are better choices than others on cold weather days. Foods that have healthy fats such as avocados, dark chocolate, cheese, yogurt, or eggs are helpful. Nuts are good, too. For someone who needs to warm up, a good broth-based soup is helpful. Caffeinated or alcoholic drinks are not helpful, however, and tend to cool down the body.
Exercise is important to staying warm. It may be easy to think that exercise is counterproductive, but actually doing exercises can keep you warm all day long. By doing some stretches, lifting some cans of soup with repeated upper arm pumps, doing leg lifts, or repeating some squats to work the leg muscles, all will help generate heat. Exercise generates a better mood, too. It releases endorphins, puts a smile on your face, and warms the body.
For those who will not, or cannot, consider exercise, just taking a series of deep breaths can help warm the body. Oxygen is fuel too. Your body cells use the oxygen you breathe to get energy from the food you eat. It is called cellular respiration. The body needs oxygen to burn the fuel, the sugars, and fatty acids, in our cells . As fuel is burned, carbon dioxide is released as part of the combustion process.
When you are outside, remember to dress for the weather. It is important to be prepared for changes in temperature or conditions, especially as the temperatures begin to moderate in early Spring. Wearing loose layers of clothing is a good strategy because air caught between the layers of your clothing can help to keep you warm. Remember to bring a hat and scarf. You lose a lot of body heat when your head and neck are uncovered. Upon returning home, always change your clothes right away if they are damp or wet.
Making a safe and healthy environment inside the home is important, too. Seniors should keep their homes at 68–70°F. Dress warmly indoors on cold days too, even if you plan to stay indoors. Stay in touch with family members and neighbors, and be grateful for those who can check on you during cold weather months. If you find yourself without power, try to stay with a friend. Space heaters are nice, but they can become fire hazards and propane or oil heaters can cause carbon monoxide poisoning. Never run space heaters when you are sleeping. Never run a space heater with an extension cord, and never run the electrical cords under rugs. Be sure your space heater is not near water, and never touch a space heater when you are wet.
Caregivers should remember that seniors are forgetful and be sure to remind them of these helpful tips.
Staying warm and healthy is always a concern in the Winter months, but Spring is right around the corner, and we have braved decades of cold Winters in our lifetimes. We just have to remember to use old common sense.
Barb Nadeau is the Community Relations Manager for the Voluntary Action Center of DeKalb County. Barb has worked in television, radio, and print as well as in volunteer coordination and networking amongst non-profit social service agencies. She is a freelance writer and television host. Contact Barb at bvnadeau@gmail.com