Why do you need to wear a scarf or cap when you go for morning walks in winter?

Read this before you head out for a morning walk.

If you are a morning walk enthusiast you might see a lot of people wearing a headscarf or covering their head with a shawl while taking walks. But I always felt that keeping the head covered is not necessary during the walks. My reason was simple: since my body will get warmer soon, I might feel hot after a while and during my regular walks the scarf, cap or shawl might become bothersome. Recently, I was stopped by an elderly gentleman (a yoga teacher in the area) who very warmly asked me to cover my head during the winter mornings while appreciating my efforts. Of course, I didn t want to buy that advice right away and questioned him, only to realise that the advice was for my own good. Read to know if a night walk is better than the morning walk.

He stated a simple reason why covering the head during the walk was necessary. During winters there are more chances of suffering from hypothermia where a person might lose body temperature swiftly making it fall beyond 35 degrees or C or 95 degrees F. This means the body is not able to generate enough heat to keep you warm. It can be fatal, especially for people who have compromised immune system suffering from diabetes and hypertension. Hypothermia can be dangerous for healthy individual too.

How wearing a scarf or cap will help during morning walks in winter

Ideally, you should be dressed in layers of clothing during winter while taking walks. Covering your head is important because 20 to 60 percent of heat is lost through an uncovered head. So if you are losing heat chances are your body might go cold. If you think that running or jogging in the morning will make you warm and so you don t need the cap remember your body might not be able to generate that much heat soon. So, you need to take the right precautions. Wrap up in layers of clothing. Wearing a few thin layers can help keep you warmer than one thick layer. In this way, you can get rid of one layer each as you start to feel warm.

If you are not covering your head still don t try to overexert while taking brisk walks against a strong wind. Exertion increases the heart s demand for oxygen which can make to fatigued or tire you out making you breathless, especially if you are still adjusting to your new fitness routine. Too much exertion can lead to a sudden heart attack even in young and healthy individual if your heart cannot keep up with the demand and supply.

So, start slowly and gradually increase your pace and don t forget to keep your head covered all the time during your morning walks.

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