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jacks, or use this as an excuse to finally
clean your bathroom. Moving around in
a confined space will warm you up in no
time.
Pitch a tent
Canopy beds make any bedroom feel
like it’s fit for royalty, but they were
also designed to keep you toasty as you
sleep. They help trap your body heat
before it escapes to the rafters. If you
don’t have a canopy bed, you can still
use the same principle—just throw the
covers over your head. Creating a con-
fined space will keep you nice and cozy
all night.
Let the light in
Use nature’s heater to your advantage
by keeping your curtains open whenever
the sun is up. Conversely, close ‘em at
nightfall. The thicker your curtains are,
the more effectively they’ll act as insu-
lators and stop heat from escaping.
Get steamy
Humid air feels warmer than dry air, so
keep your humidifier running through-
out the day during the winter. You can
also add a little humidity to your home
by showering with the bathroom door
open and letting your clothes air dry—
every little bit helps.
Do the laundry
There’s nothing like clothes fresh out
of the dryer to keep you warm. Use the
freezing temps as your excuse to finally
do that pile of laundry, then bask in the
post-dryer warmth.
Cover your cap.
Science has proven
moms everywhere
wrong—you
don’t actually
lose most of
your body
heat
through
your
head.
But you
should
still listen to
the woman and
throw on a hat when it’s
cold out—a chilly scalp
does cause your core
body temp to drop faster
than it normally would.
So put on your favorite
beanie and stay toasty for
a little longer.
Strip down
Your doors that is.
They’re a major source of
drafts, especially in older
houses or apartments
that tend not be super
weatherproof. The good
news? Weather stripping
(or sealing) isn’t that hard
to do as long as you’re
ready to channel your in-
ner handyman.
Reverse the fan
If you’re up for a little science experi-
ment, you can harness the physics of
your ceiling fan in order to keep warm.
Since warm air rises, you can use your
ceiling fan to push it back down towards
the ground. Simply reverse the direction
of your fan and keep
it on low so it
doesn’t stir up
a
big breeze.
Line your
radiator
If you
have a
radia-
tor—
espe-
cially
one
mount-
ed on an
outside-
facing
wall—
you’re
probably
losing
a lot of
heat to
the chilly
outdoors.
Line the space
between the wall and
the radiator with heavy duty tin foil to
keep the heat where you want it.
Think warm thoughts
You know that incredibly annoying
thing your parents told you every time
you complained about the cold as a kid?
Turns out they were on to
something. Re-
searchers have
shown that core
body tem-
pera-
ture
can be
con-
trolled
by the
brain.
Excuse
us while we
daydream about
white sand and
sunshine.