10 ms·
I used to dislike the cold, always feeling I suffered greatly from it due to growing up in poverty in the UK and living in damp spaces (mould on the walls, cond
by buro9 12y ago
I used to dislike the cold, always feeling I suffered greatly from it due to growing up in poverty in the UK and living in damp spaces (mould on the walls, condensation on the window, a cough always a breathe away).
Then I was homeless, sleeping rough through UK winters.
One does adapt, and fairly quickly too. The first nights I slept out during snowfall I didn't get much sleep as I was shivering too violently and uncontrollably. On subsequent nights I discovered cardboard (helps prevent the moisture from dew covering your body and subsequently freezing, as well as acting like an air cocoon around you holding warmer air to the body).
It was still below freezing on those nights, but I'd adapted the environment enough to remove the most severe effects. In turn, I was able to adapt to the temperature itself. I would feel myself slow down, and fall into very deep and peaceful sleeps.
It's been a long time since I was homeless, and I am fortunate now to have a roof above my head during winter. One thing remains though, I still never use the heater and leave all of the windows open in my flat. Last night was -2'c in London with a Northerly wind, and yet all of my windows were left open and I slept soundly.
For me, I tend to have a problem in the other extreme now: I find it hard to stay awake or do anything when the temperature is too high (above 30'c) and plan most holidays to be in cold climates or off-seasons so as to ensure I get the most out of them (side-effect of also being cheaper and avoiding a crush of tourists too).
- eru 12y agoYou can also get used to heat. But it takes a while, too, as I learned when I was living in Singapore.
- sanoli 12y agoVery true. Yesterday it was about 38c with a sensation much higher, and at night I slept pretty good with my trusty blanket. I've lived in tropical climates pretty much my whole life, and it's the cold places that bother me.
- simonebrunozzi 12y agoI never get used to the hot+humid combination in Singapore.
- eru 12y agoSome of my Singaporean friends got almost jealous that I often coped better than them. I sweated like crazy, though.
- tmmm 12y agoI've always wondered how homeless people deal with cold when I saw them during winter. It's amazing what our bodies can do.
- buro9 12y agoIn the most extreme conditions I used to visit building sites as the site offices tended to remain unlocked (there's nothing in there to steal) and they were unattended from 7pm through 5am. They also tended to have a kettle and some enamel cups... usually all dirty at the end of a day but with boiling water to hand that isn't an issue. One can sleep there and actually feel really safe and secure, not just from the harshest conditions but I never saw anyone else in those spaces so I didn't have to fear being mugged either. The very worst thing to do is precisely what you see some homeless people do, which is to drink alcohol. It's temporarily soothing and warming, but your body loses some of it's ability to effectively regulate temperature. The people I saw in the worst trouble when I walked the streets were those who drank heavily. Strange how I didn't comprehend at the time that my extreme hunger over winter could probably be correlated with the cold and burning more calories to deal with it. Thankfully compassion increases during winter and food is slightly more readily available. The only other thing I'll add is shoes. If your feet are warm when you're walking your 30 miles a day (what I believe I averaged through rough calculation) then you feel warm. Cold feet and you feel freezing. Good boots, thick soles, are a blessing and felt more valuable to me than a heavy coat. Actually, another thing. Wisdom says to layer, but if you're not actually mobile much overnight I always found fewer thicker layers to be better. i.e. a thick cable-knit jumper trumped multiple thinner layers. I suspect layers are really the solution for highly active people such as skiers, runners and so on, but if you're immobile in the cold a thick jumper helps more.
- tmmm 12y agoA little bit off-topic, but why were you walking so much? And where did you find so much energy to do so (I presume you would probably need to eat a lot (much more than 2,000 calories) to be able to walk so many miles)?
- 12y ago
- wodzu 12y agoGreat story. Glad you managed to get out of the street.
- marincounty 12y agoGlad you are not homeless. In school, I read a short story written by Jack London about what it feels like to be really cold--turns out he wrote it on a beach in Hawaii. Forgot the name of the story. When I read the story, I thought it was great literature, but I read it knowing I would never be homeless. As I have aged, and feel more financially vunerable--and sometimes close to being Homeless--these stories about being cold are too close to home.
- fizgig 12y agoWas it "To Build a Fire"? It's story about a man and his dog who venture out at the onset of a storm. A very good read.
- keithpeter 12y ago"Last night was -2'c in London with a Northerly wind, and yet all of my windows were left open and I slept soundly." Do you use blankets/a duvet? Have you a thermometer to monitor internal temperature in your sleeping space? OA recommends 12 to 16 Celsius? I grew up in a (sound, dry) house without central heating in the Northern UK and remember Jack Frost on the windows by the way.
- buro9 12y agoA sheet and two cheap blankets. I can afford nice down quilts but haven't felt the need. I find it colder to walk around bare foot first thing in the morning. Slippers help there (when I can find them).