'Professor Popsicle': Mindset critical to enduring cold
"What I tell people who are worried about how they could damage themselves outside in the cold is if you're active outside in the summer, there's no reason why you can't be active outside in the winter," the physiologist known as 'Professor Popsicle' tells AccuWeather.
By
Monica Danielle, AccuWeather Managing Editor
A lot of the tales you heard growing up may not be scientifically true. Anna Azallion takes a look at common weather misconceptions.
You aren't alone if you don't like being cold. It's a dilemma millions are facing as Arctic air invades parts of the United States. If you are attempting to make friends with cold weather, there are some simple steps you can take to improve your time outdoors.
"I hate being cold, so I tell people, 'If you don’t want to be cold, stick with me because whatever we're doing outside I'm going to be doing the best I can even in a cold environment not to feel cold,'" Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht told AccuWeather.
Giesbrecht knows what he's talking about. He's a cold-weather expert also known as "Professor Popsicle" due to his vast experience with low temperatures. As Outside Magazine notes, "Giesbrecht didn't become the world's leading authority on hypothermia by sitting around the campfire. He got there by leaping into frozen lakes, injecting ice water into his veins, and taking lots of very, very cold baths."
It's not an exaggeration. The environmental physiologist and director of the University of Manitoba's Laboratory for Exercise and Environmental Medicine has lowered his body temperature below 95 degrees, the threshold of hypothermia, dozens of times over the years and has conducted hundreds of cold water immersion studies that have provided valuable information about cold stress physiology and pre-hospital care for human hypothermia.
"What I tell people who are worried about how they could damage themselves outside in the cold is if you're active outside in the summer, there's no reason why you can't be active outside in the winter."
Giesbrecht says staying regularly active as the seasons change and gradually increasing exposure to the colder weather will help your body immediately begin to adjust.
Also, he says, there's a psychology of cold.
“The first time you experience cold in the year, you feel really cold," Giesbrecht said. "Like if it's 20 degrees Fahrenheit in October you're freezing and you put all your clothing on. And if it's 20 degrees in March you go, 'Hey, it's beautiful outside,' and you walk out with a light jacket or a sweater on. So we acclimatize not only throughout the season, like weeks and months, but also hours and days."
Your attitude about the weather is almost as important as dressing for the temperature. Giesbrecht said that if you have a negative attitude, your cold threshold is likely to be much lower.
“The attitude you have does make a difference. There's no question about it. If you are gonna say, ‘Oh, I'm going to freeze,’ you'll just be really uncomfortable as opposed to if you say, 'It might be cold out here but I'm going for a cross-country ski.' and 'This is going to be great. We're going to have a snack at the end. We're going to see some beautiful scenery.' Your mind is taken off the cold because you're into the activity."
A negative mindset can sometimes be caused by fear of the effects of cold weather, so a little knowledge about cold illness and injury can go a long way toward easing your mind and creating a positive attitude, Giesbrecht said.
"You really have to mess up to become hypothermic. It's going to take a long time in cold air to become hypothermic, which is the lowering of your body core temperature from 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit to 95. That's going to take a long time."
But, he cautioned, it's important to pay close attention to the signals the body sends that it's in trouble. "Cold skin causes shivering," Giesbrecht said. "If you shiver for 30 seconds or a couple of minutes -- that’s no big deal. But if you have ongoing shivering for 10 or 15 minutes, that’s a sign that you are not turning it around, [that] you’re continually cold-stressed enough that you’re shivering." Giesbrecht said prolonged shivering is a signal that a person needs to get indoors and warm up.
And hypothermia is not the only cold-weather danger to keep in mind. Frostbite, "which is local freezing of tissue," is another threat, but knowing when it's setting in can be tricky. "Never accept numbness," Giesbrecht advises. "That will help you prevent frostbite. If you’re numb, that’s because your receptors and nerves don’t work as well and they’re getting very cold, and the next thing that’s going to happen is they don’t work at all." Reaching this stage might make someone beginning to suffer frostbite feel a little bit better, "but that’s actually a warning that you’re really close to frostbite," he said.
Not ignoring those warning signs, though, and using some cold psychology will help many people enjoy spending time outside in the cold.
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'Professor Popsicle': Mindset critical to enduring cold
"What I tell people who are worried about how they could damage themselves outside in the cold is if you're active outside in the summer, there's no reason why you can't be active outside in the winter," the physiologist known as 'Professor Popsicle' tells AccuWeather.
By Monica Danielle, AccuWeather Managing Editor
A lot of the tales you heard growing up may not be scientifically true. Anna Azallion takes a look at common weather misconceptions.
You aren't alone if you don't like being cold. It's a dilemma millions are facing as Arctic air invades parts of the United States. If you are attempting to make friends with cold weather, there are some simple steps you can take to improve your time outdoors.
"I hate being cold, so I tell people, 'If you don’t want to be cold, stick with me because whatever we're doing outside I'm going to be doing the best I can even in a cold environment not to feel cold,'" Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht told AccuWeather.
Giesbrecht knows what he's talking about. He's a cold-weather expert also known as "Professor Popsicle" due to his vast experience with low temperatures. As Outside Magazine notes, "Giesbrecht didn't become the world's leading authority on hypothermia by sitting around the campfire. He got there by leaping into frozen lakes, injecting ice water into his veins, and taking lots of very, very cold baths."
It's not an exaggeration. The environmental physiologist and director of the University of Manitoba's Laboratory for Exercise and Environmental Medicine has lowered his body temperature below 95 degrees, the threshold of hypothermia, dozens of times over the years and has conducted hundreds of cold water immersion studies that have provided valuable information about cold stress physiology and pre-hospital care for human hypothermia.
"What I tell people who are worried about how they could damage themselves outside in the cold is if you're active outside in the summer, there's no reason why you can't be active outside in the winter."
Giesbrecht says staying regularly active as the seasons change and gradually increasing exposure to the colder weather will help your body immediately begin to adjust.
Also, he says, there's a psychology of cold.
“The first time you experience cold in the year, you feel really cold," Giesbrecht said. "Like if it's 20 degrees Fahrenheit in October you're freezing and you put all your clothing on. And if it's 20 degrees in March you go, 'Hey, it's beautiful outside,' and you walk out with a light jacket or a sweater on. So we acclimatize not only throughout the season, like weeks and months, but also hours and days."
Your attitude about the weather is almost as important as dressing for the temperature. Giesbrecht said that if you have a negative attitude, your cold threshold is likely to be much lower.
“The attitude you have does make a difference. There's no question about it. If you are gonna say, ‘Oh, I'm going to freeze,’ you'll just be really uncomfortable as opposed to if you say, 'It might be cold out here but I'm going for a cross-country ski.' and 'This is going to be great. We're going to have a snack at the end. We're going to see some beautiful scenery.' Your mind is taken off the cold because you're into the activity."
A negative mindset can sometimes be caused by fear of the effects of cold weather, so a little knowledge about cold illness and injury can go a long way toward easing your mind and creating a positive attitude, Giesbrecht said.
"You really have to mess up to become hypothermic. It's going to take a long time in cold air to become hypothermic, which is the lowering of your body core temperature from 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit to 95. That's going to take a long time."
But, he cautioned, it's important to pay close attention to the signals the body sends that it's in trouble. "Cold skin causes shivering," Giesbrecht said. "If you shiver for 30 seconds or a couple of minutes -- that’s no big deal. But if you have ongoing shivering for 10 or 15 minutes, that’s a sign that you are not turning it around, [that] you’re continually cold-stressed enough that you’re shivering." Giesbrecht said prolonged shivering is a signal that a person needs to get indoors and warm up.
And hypothermia is not the only cold-weather danger to keep in mind. Frostbite, "which is local freezing of tissue," is another threat, but knowing when it's setting in can be tricky. "Never accept numbness," Giesbrecht advises. "That will help you prevent frostbite. If you’re numb, that’s because your receptors and nerves don’t work as well and they’re getting very cold, and the next thing that’s going to happen is they don’t work at all." Reaching this stage might make someone beginning to suffer frostbite feel a little bit better, "but that’s actually a warning that you’re really close to frostbite," he said.
Not ignoring those warning signs, though, and using some cold psychology will help many people enjoy spending time outside in the cold.
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