TOP TIPS FOR THE WINTER MONTHS
Inspire FM
1st December 2023
Winter - some love it, others not so much. Whether you're an ice-skating enthusiast or just want to survive the season, here are five essential areas to focus on to make this winter your best one yet.
Cosy Up and Keep Warm:
Draw your curtains at dusk and keep your doors closed to prevent heat from escaping the room. Make sure that your radiators are not obstructed by curtains or furniture. If you have wood or laminate floors, you may want to consider putting rugs down to insulate your home. Try to heat rooms you spend a lot of time in, such as the living room or bedroom, to at least 18°C. You can also insulate your water pipes to minimise heat loss and prevent your pipes from freezing. You can find pipe lagging in most DIY stores and it doesn’t take much to put it on.
Have a regular hot drink and eat at least one hot meal a day if possible. Eating regularly helps keep energy levels up during winter.
It’s better to wear several layers of thinner clothing as this could keep you warmer than one thicker layer.
Beat the Germs:
CATCH IT. BIN IT. KILL IT. Germs spread easily. Always carry tissues and use them to catch your cough or sneeze. Dispose of your tissue and clean your hands as soon as you can. If you know someone who is unwell, avoid close contact with them to prevent getting ill.
Winter Travel Wisdom
It’s a good idea to check the weather before travelling. The Met Office provides weather forecasts and issues any weather warnings for your area.
If you’re driving in winter then it’s a good idea to have a winter kit in the back of your car. This should include a torch, ice scraper, de-icer, in-car phone charger, warm clothes, blankets, high-visibility clothing, jump leads (hopefully you don’t need them), empty fuel can, food and drink (for emergencies), shovel, warning triangles and sunglasses (the winter sun can seriously affect driver’s visibility).
Driving in the cold, especially if it’s snowing, requires you to have tyres with good grip. Ensure your tyres have a legal tread depth of 1.6mm, but it’s recommended to keep them above 3mm.
You should allow extra time for your journeys as more people will be using the car as it’s cold and when it’s snowing the driving conditions can be dangerous so plan extra time into your journey to get to school or work on time.
If you’re travelling by foot, ensure to wrap up warm with several layers of light clothing and a hi-visibility outer layer. Exposed skin is vulnerable to frost nip and frostbite and the risk increases as the wind chill temperature falls. It can happen in as little as 30 minutes, so keep vulnerable places such as your cheeks, nose and ears covered, as well as your hands and feet.
Whether driving, walking or cycling, icy pavements and roads can be extremely slippery. Take extra care if you go out, and wear boots or shoes with a good grip on the soles. You could put grit on paths and driveways to lessen the risk of slipping and wait until the roads have been gritted if you're travelling by car. Remember that black ice on pavements or roads might not be visible, and compacted snow may turn to ice and become slippery.
Develop Good Habits
Research, from Dr Phillippa Lally, suggests that it takes, on average, 66 days to create a habit.
Winter can be a great opportunity to get into the habit of observing the sunnah fasts. The days are shorter meaning you wouldn’t have to fast for long hours making the fast easier. If you get into the habit now, then you can continue during other seasons.
Shorter days mean that there will be long nights. This is another opportunity to get into the habit of performing the tahajjud prayer.
Care for Your Community
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Every act of goodness is charity” (Muslim).
As Muslims, we should help one another, especially the vulnerable in our community. Ensure your elderly neighbours and family members are warm in their homes. Maybe you can drive them to the shops if they normally go walking so they don’t have to go out in the cold.
