That was going to be my suggestion. When it’s time to turn the heat on I close all of the upstairs vents, which makes the top floor noticeably colder than the rest of the place (I live in a 3-story townhouse), but the electric blanket is awesome: I turn it up all the way and pre-heat it for when I first get into bed, and then before I fall asleep I turn it down to about mid-way and it’s the perfect temp for overnight.
As jsgoddess pointed out, fat is no indication of warmth. I’m overweight and not usually cold, but my officemate is fatter than me and always freezing; my best friend is a male of average weight and tends to be chilly, but his 5-year-old son, small for his age, is a walking heater. I don’t know what regulates our internal thermostats, but “natural insulation” isn’t as contributory as many people think.
I am not thin, but I have like, the world’s worst circulation. I get freezing cold during the summer if I’m exposed to air conditioning, or if I walk near an open refrigerator (just so no one wastes their typing time, I’ve been checked out for diseases for it - I’m good ).
What I do is a combination of the stuff suggested above. I wear a hat of some sort most of the time, to cover the topmost part of my head; a baseball cap during the summer, but I go back to a woolen beanie during the winter. I wear a scarf (a really warm one that I knitted myself). And if it’s REALLY cold, I get those pain-relief heaters and wrap them right above whatever is cold (if my fingers are cold I put them around my wrists, if my toes are cold I put them around my ankles, etc.). Occasionally, if I can’t get it to stop, I’ll put one of the air-activated handwarmers in my beanie, near the back of my head. I also wear geeky-looking legwarmers. I do these things to varying degrees depending on how cold I am; I should buy stock in those pain heaters, though. I go through a case or more during the winter.
When I sleep I have a heating pad that I put under my knees to keep my feet from freezing. I want an electric blanket but I have the Tashaboy and he works almost as well. He, on the other hand, likes it cold. He does NOT have bad circulation and doesn’t understand why I like the temperature to be above 75 degrees.
One of the dual-control heated mattress pads or electric blankets is a great investment. Be wary of the heating pad. My husband managed to blister his back with one. :smack:
I’m scrawny because I can’t help it. I eat a very fatty diet and drink lots of sugary tea, but I just don’t gain weight. My doctor nags me constantly about it. I don’t have any sort of eating disorder and there’s nothing physically wrong with me. (Well, nothing that would affect my weight, anyway.)
Jack Russel Terriers are great for this, too. Mine prefers to sleep under the blankets and he’s a very passive creature, so he doesn’t protest when I stuff him down at the bottom of the bed and put my feet on him.
My great uncle has climbed to the highest spot in every state (well, Kansas wasn’t a climb per se, but you get the idea) and that’s what he said about K2 in Alaska. He was the oldest person to ever climb it and the drs recommended that he eat sticks of margarine to stay warm.
Lissa, I’m underweight too (BMI is usually right around 17) and here’s what I do:
At Work (desk job):
Scarves around my neck
I sit on a heating pad (low heat)
long underwear
Bottomless cup of green tea (for some reason black tea makes me have to pee 20x/day)
Lots of breaks to walk briskly around our atrium
At Home:
I start eating red meat in November and stop in March. I don’t know why but it’s made a big difference.
I thought of something else that usually helps me deal with cold; I have no scientific basis for this, but it seems to help - make sure you get outside for periods of time all through fall, as the temperature is starting to drop and the sun is moving down the sky and the days are getting shorter. I think this triggers your animal brain sensors to move into winter mode. If you just go from heated house to heated garage to heated car to heated garage at work and back again, you’re not giving your body the cues it needs to understand what mode it’s supposed to be in now.
Great way to spend your early years, that’s for sure. Also a useful way to learn such handy lessons as: If the German Shepherd is smoking, then it’s either time to adjust the spark guard, move further away from the fireplace, or possibly both.
There are little typing gloves made of spandex you can buy; they’re close fitting, with no fingers. I have several pairs and, while they don’t keep your fingers warm, they do leave them free for typing or other work while providing a non-cumbersome covering for the rest of your hands.
They wash easily too: just put them on your hands, wash with soap and warmish water, and them take off to dry.
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