Feeling cold

This will just be a short one, but I was reminded of it last night as a friend and I were talking about workplace temperature.

In general, I tend to feel warm easily, so I enjoy air conditioning. However, one winter they were having a really hard time getting the building temperature up, to where not only was I keeping my coat on at my desk, but I wanted to keep my gloves on too, though they were not great for typing.

It was around that time that I first read of a study indicating that a cold temperature can exacerbate feelings of isolation and loneliness. That article spoke specifically to workplace temperature, in that if you want your workers to feel connected to each other raising the temperature a few degrees can be helpful.

That seemed counter-intuitive. I knew that conventional wisdom referred to tempers boiling over in hot weather, so I would expect raising the thermostat to lead to fights. At the same time, I know that in some of my loneliest moments I have felt cold, and it wasn't just figurative.

Of course, temperature has a full continuum, so cold, cool, warm, and hot can all be different, and have different reactions, that may also vary based on the individual person.

However, the tip for this week is that sometimes you can help your mind out via your body.

In my household, most of the members run warm, but there is one who runs cold. We try not to make the house too cold, but one thing that is more helpful than raising the thermostat is throwing a couple of blankets in the dryer for a few minutes and then wrapping her up in them, generally accompanied by a cup of cocoa.

This makes her happier than you might expect. There is the individual attention - it means more to have me get the blankets and cocoa for her than it would for her to get them herself - but the temperature boost is also there.

That is probably something you can do for yourself. If you are having a lonely moment, and it is a regular thing, obviously it is work looking into whether you need more support or to repair some relationship. There can also be value in simply wrapping yourself in a comforter, taking a warm bath, or doing some other activity that takes into account your mind and body connection.