The best tricks and life hacks to keep you warm this winter

For most of the country, winter has well and truly come and we are feeling the chill.

It can be hard to stay warm and you feel like you’ve done everything, but are still shaking. With that said, did you know there are plenty of clever tricks to deal with the cold weather?

Here’s our favourite tips and life hacks.
1. Stay dry

Stay dry, especially by dressing in layers. Start with a synthetic base layer to pull the moisture off your skin. Then you’ll need an insulating layer and something else on top like a scarf or other knitwear if necessary.

2. Don’t worry about the hat

70 per cent of a person’s body heat escapes does not escape from their head so you don’t need to wear one, though it is best to keep all areas of exposed skin covered.

3. Drink water

Water is amazing at retaining body heat: the more you have in your system, the easier it is to keep warm.

4. Don’t drink alcohol

Alcohol drops your core body temperature and is advised against in cold weather as it also dehydrates you.

5. Get some rubber soles

Ensure that your footwear has rubber soles because it is a bad conductor of heat and keeps your feet warm.

6. Increase humidity

Leave a bowl full of water in your bedroom overnight or get a humidifier. Humidity directs cold away from the body around 25 times faster than dry air. It also prevents your skin from getting dry thus cutting down on expensive creams.

7. Exercise more

Physical activity helps in increasing the metabolic rate, and accelerates body heat production.

8. Take cold showers

This may sound crazy but cold showers help improve blood circulation, in turn helping to keep you warm. A hot shower, causes the blood to move towards the surface of the skin, giving you a fleeting sense of warmth, while cold water makes the blood rush back to your vital organs.

9. Put socks on the toilet seat

This sounds silly but it’s genius when you go to the bathroom on a cold day. Simply slip a couple of socks on your toilet seat (if you have the open ‘C’ design).

10. Parking your car

When parking outside during winter, park your car facing east so that the sun will defrost your windshield as it rises.

11. Ceiling fan on the winter setting

Make sure your ceiling fan is spinning on the winter setting in reverse. It will push air up instead of down.

12. Defog your windows

Spray your car windows with a 3:1 vinegar/water mixture to keep ice or frost from forming on your windows.

Tell us, do you have any other tips for staying warm?