Is there a connection between being tired and being cold?

You had a bad night’s sleep and the next day you are easily cold. Sound familiar? Congratulations, then your body is working completely properly. Two reasons why this is so:

1. It is a trick of your body to help you find a warmer place. Allow yourself to retreat and take a nap.

Your body does not take into account your daily schedule, but wants to protect you and help you get your needed sleep. How exactly does that work?

When you are tired, blood flow in your skin increases. This seems contradictory, because you are actually shivering. But still it is. You see this in children with red cheeks and ears, for example. The heat inside your body is sent out through the skin, so your skin gets a few degrees warmer, but your brain actually sends cold signals. Why does your brain do this? They want to prevent your body from hypothermia and in this way tell you to seek your warm bed.

2. Another reason why you get cold faster when you’re tired: your metabolism works a lot lower.

With a slow metabolism, fewer calories are burned. The less combustion takes place the less heat is released. Resulting in a cold body.

Do you have a lot less energy in the winter and feel cold much faster than most people around you? Here’s how this comes about and what you can do about it:

1. When it’s cold outside, your body has to work extra hard to stay warm.

This costs your body a lot of energy and often results in fatigue. So dress properly when you go outside or if you have turned your heating down a degree. Warming clothes can be a very good idea in this regard. Heated inner gloves and heated socks can also keep your body comfortably warm. Want to know more about preventing cold feet? Then read our article What are the best warm socks against cold feet.

2. When the days get shorter and colder, you’re exposed to a lot less vitamin D (found in sunlight) than in the summer.

After all, you’d rather stay inside. And àwhen you go outside you prefer to cover every exposed part of your body. With long pants, jacket, gloves and a hat. So a vitamin D deficiency is so run up in winter. How you notice this? It often makes you weak and tired. Your muscles feel sore and you lack energy.

Foods high in vitamin D are fatty fish and dairy. But if you want to get it right, taking extra vitamin D is wise. This applies anyway to children under 4, people with dark skin color, people who do not get much sun, women over 50 and men over 70.

3. Because you tend to be less active in the winter, your energy level drops and you feel less fit and therefore more quickly tired.

The general advice is to exercise your body moderately to intensely for at least 2.5 hours per week, spread over several days. Consider not only cardio exercises such as running, but also muscle strengthening exercises to keep you feeling powerful and fit. This will not only make you warm, but also make you less tired.