Checkmate, winter!

I have had wonderful opportunities to experience the cold in Vancouver and London. It has shown me how amazingly flexible the human body is. It has also proved to me that our environment indeed impacts our lives.

I lived in Vancouver for 2 years. It has the mildest winter in Canada. The least it dropped to was -5 degrees, with an average of about 2-3 degrees. My home town is Mumbai. The summers in Vancouver are colder than the winters in Mumbai. Needless to say, it took me quite a while to acclamatise to the cold. Moreover, I feel that the cold and forever dark skies were responsible for most of my gloominess. Thus, when I moved to London, I came equipped with my very own schemes to battle the cold, rain and dreariness. I present to you, in this article, the body armour and weapons. The spirit, I presume, is already in place.

If you are a person who likes to spend extravagantly, then this article isn’t for you. The internet is brimming with solutions for you. This is for penny-pinchers like me, who are comfortable with making certain tweaks in their life to save, what some might think is pittance. Fret not though, I don’t recommend being penny wise pound foolish.

It is vital to have one very warm coat/jacket, complete with a cap. If your jacket doesn’t have an attached cap, make sure to carry atleast one monkey cap that covers everything except your nose. Apart from these, do carry warm winter wear like sweaters, hoodies mufflers, gloves, and socks. Do make sure that you don’t get baked inside these.

If you are going to a foreign country, make sure to compare the price of winter wear in both countries. It is quite possible that it is less expensive in your country. It is also possible that the warm clothes you plan to buy abroad are exported from your country, for which you will end up paying a premium. Also, if you do your shopping in the summer, then you can save quite a bit.

Battling the winter, in many ways, is like a game of chess. You are the king. Your warm jacket is your queen, the ultimate game changer. Your next most important ally, the rooks, are your socks. Then come the table turners, the horses, which are caps and sweaters, and the bishops, which are gloves and mufflers. And last, but not the least, are the small danger bombs, the pawns, which are food, drink, vitamins, sleep, exercise, baths and mood.

The queen is elegant, beautiful, and the solution to most of your problems. Do remember to not get her out too soon, though. Contrary to folklore, I would suggest that you try to acclamatise to the environment at first. Keep yourself just a little outside your preferred warmth comfort zone. Note that it is okay to feel a slight chill, it is not okay to freeze. When it begins getting cold, take out your pawns. Make sure that you stay hydrated, full and well rested. One tends to feel colder(and morose) when they are hungry, thirsty, or sleepy. Make sure you give your body the sleep it needs to polish its wheels. Start drinking hot water(you can add some grated ginger) or your choice of hot beverage. Not only does it warm your insides, you can also use the hot bottle to warm your hands. Sometimes, this works much better than gloves. You can also use the hot water to steam your face, which is very comforting at times. If you are going to live in a place where the sun hibernates, then make sure that your vitamin B12 and D3 and iron levels don’t drop. Lack of these vitamins can make you feel like a lizard, with cold hands and feet forever, no matter how much you cover them. You may also end up with various joint pains. Supplements are easily available in drug stores.

Bathing with hot water, especially before stepping out of the house, I have noticed, definitely makes me feel much warmer for atleast half a day. A word of caution though – going out with wet hair can be quite unpleasant, and can end up in a mild headache. While bathing, we rub each part of our body, stimulating proper blood flow, which helps in keeping the body warm. Exercise has a similar effect. It not only keeps you warm, it also keeps you happy. If you are feeling cold and down, the first thing I would suggest is doing some on the spot jogging and breathing exercises. Just five minutes of this is sufficient to make you feel rejuvenated and hot.

The rook is the next most important piece. You can use it with the queen to checkmate. There are various points through which cold can enter your body – the ears, hands, feet, nose and chest. It is quite possible for me to manage with just socks and a jacket, keeping all other points of entry uncovered, even at around 6 degrees. I think wearing socks at night is possibly better than wearing a sweater. The thickness of the socks is of importance too. Very thick socks might get you sweaty, and might end up stinking. Very thin ones might be no good at all. Thus I suggest using the thick socks only in severely cold situations. For about 0 degrees, one can use socks of medium thickness. Do carry spare thin socks with you. In case it suddenly gets chilly, you can always wear thin socks over the medium ones. This might even turn out to be warmer than thick socks, while also covering the smell. If you wear the correct socks, your shoes won’t be of much consequence. However, I would recommend wearing shoes that cover all skin till the ankle. Boots aren’t needed unless it is pouring or snowing.

Horses and bishops help you keep the other cold entry points warm. It is important to have them handy when you want to attack. Get them out before the queen. It is even possible to win this game completely without the queen, if you position the rooks and them well. I would suggest having a small bag with you at all times, with these three power players. Always have a light sweater with you. Remember that the queen is useless inside buildings that have heaters, or crowded buses. What really helps then is layering up. This is your answer to one of winter’s most valuable players – sweat. As soon as you get sweaty, you can remove some layers of clothing, and put them back on once you are dry. In decreasing order of importance are the cap, muffler, and gloves. Note that, if you have long hair, letting it down and fixing it in place with a muffler can be very useful on windy days(wind is another power player of winter). One can always use cotton and earphones too.

Don’t forget, you are the king. There are some small steps you can take to be victorious. You can keep your hands in your pockets to keep them warm. On windy days, you can walk behind the wind shielders, that is, people who are bigger and broader than you. While standing somewhere for a long time, you can do that dance routine that you have been wanting to practise for ages. If your room feels cold, seal the cracks in the windows and door. When it is windy, make sure to stand with your back facing the wind. That way, most of your cold entry points are protected.

Lastly, be happy! I cannot stress enough on how important it is to keep yourself mentally healthy, occupied and not unhappy. Sadness(and laziness) is possibly the queen of winter’s game. It is extremely important to not let her affect you. One very effective method for killing sadness is going out and taking a walk, or meeting friends. It has had wondrous effects on me. A change of scenery a day keeps the doctor away.

I hope this helps you. None of this is actual science, these are just inferences I have drawn from various experiments I have conducted on myself. Each person has a different body; I urge you to find out what works for you.

May the odds be ever in your favour!