When the weather turns cold, some people dream of Caribbean vacations, but others look forward to cold weather sports, ice fishing, snow mobiling, cross-country skiing, or snow-shoeing.
You might even fancy a little bit of brandy to keep you warm. But does it actually help keep you warm?
No it doesn't. Alcohol may give you the feeling that you're warming up, but that is only an illusion. In fact, alcohol consumption makes you more susceptible to the cold. In cold weather, the body reacts by routing blood away from the skin toward the internal organs. This prevents loss of heat through the skin and maintains core temperature.
Alcohol reverses this effect by making you flush red. This flush makes you feel warm for a few minutes, but you are really losing heat from the skin to the cold air. You could lose enough heat to begin hypothermia and not even realize it, because as your skin feels warmer, your core body temperature is getting colder and colder.
You should probably just stick to a little hot chocolate!
More Episodes like this:
- Harsh Winters are due to Climate Change
- A World without Snow
- Benjamin Franklin and his fabric swatches in the snow
- Winter Sounds
Originally aired December 16, 2004.
