As we age, the cold weather can have more of an impact on us compared to when we were younger. With the cost of energy increasing, it may not be possible to have your heating on enough to stay warm enough. So, we’re here with some tips for keeping warm over the winter, with some options for making your home warmer and then other options that are cheap and cheerful to keep yourself warmer if heating your home more isn’t an option. 

Improve Insulation 

The first thing you can do to keep warm during winter without spending more on electricity is to improve the insulation in your home. Less cold air will enter, more warm air will be retained, and so you need to spend less on heating your home. Cheaper options include getting new curtains that are insulating, or to sew a layer of insulation onto the back. You could reseal windows and doors, you could get draught excluders to go anywhere there are issues, or you could invest in things like external wall insulation or conservatory insulation if the budget was there. Either way, if you can make small adjustments to stop cold air entering and to keep warm air in, it will help to make your home more comfortable. 

 

Wear Layers

Something else that is key to help you feel and stay warm in the winter is to wear layers. It’s much harder to make yourself feel warmer than cooler in the winter, so we’d recommend wearing more layers than you think you might need, then you can always take them off if you’re too warm. You should start with a base layer, like a long sleeve thinner top, that is close to the skin, ideally thermal if possible. Then add an insulating layer, so a fleece or jumper. When it’s cold, add an exterior layer if you need to, like a coat or jacket, then if it’s really cold or you’re sitting still a lot, then you can also wear a hat, scarf and gloves if you need. Whilst you might not need all of these layers, it’s best to stay warm. 

Get A Heated Blanket

Another really effective and also cost effective way to stay warm is to get a heated blanket. A heated blanket is much cheaper to run than a plug in heater or of course your central heating, and you can easily change the temperature depending on how cold it is. You can lay it over a chair in the daytime, then move it to your bed at night, and it can help you to feel much more comfortable. You may have your central heating set to come on for an hour when you wake up, and then for a bit before bed too, but this can help to keep you warm throughout the other hours. 

Stay Active When You Can

Something else you can do if it’s possible to stay warm during the winter is to stay active when you can. Being sat still in one place will naturally make you feel much colder, so if you can move around more, or at least every now and again, it can help to get your blood flowing and make you feel that bit warmer. This could be something as simple as making a cup of tea, doing some light stretches, cleaning or gardening, but it can make a real difference to how you feel. 

Go To Community Centres

A great thing you can do to stay warm during winter is to go to community centres. Most places will have a form of a community centre designed for elderly people, where you can take part in innovative therapies, socialise, do activities, eat and drink, as well as enjoy the warmth of the community centre. For example, Age UK has a search facility where you can put your postcode in and it will make recommendations based on your postcode. If you’re not confident, ask someone to help you with this. There are some paid options, but there are also quite a few charities who do this, so have a look, as it can be well worth it. 

 

Eat and Drink Warm Things

It’s also important that you’re eating and drinking warm things throughout the day. Make sure you’re drinking hot drinks every now and again, then you should be eating a hot meal 3 times a day if you can. This doesn’t have to be expensive or use much energy, so you could do porridge for breakfast, beans on toast for lunch and then in the evening something you could bulk make and reheat, like a cottage pie, a curry or a pasta bake. That bit of warm food makes all the difference, so it’s really key.