Are you wintering all wrong? How to stay happy in the cold

As the country goes into a deep freeze, people are rediscovering their thermostats and layering up. But, says trend forecaster Jane Kellock, there are other ways to kill the chills and develop a ‘positive winter mindset’ and no it’s not all about the Danish practice of Hygge..

Many feel pressured to change their body in the new year – but maybe it should be nice winter walks instead of freezing frantic jogs (Alamy)

As temperatures in the UK plummet below zero and an amber cold health alert is issued, heated debates over the temperature dial in homes and offices across the nation ramp up.

“Summer people” immediately crank up the heating to 30 and start googling winter in the Caribbean. Meanwhile, “winter lovers” or “snow aficionados” are enthusiastically lighting wood burners, pulling on winter layers and listening to Kate Bush’s 50 Words for Snow. Some will defiantly go for morning runs, and crack on with a new year regime of protein-no-carb diets, while others will throw on another layer and boast about the power of barley soup.

Part of how much someone feels the cold will be based on science. The thyroid, for example, plays an important role in regulating body temperature, as does the hypothalamus function (the structure deep in your brain that regulates individual core temperature). Another factor is gender – don’t even go there with bedroom temperature and duvet wars during menopause. Unsurprisingly stress is also key, feeling excessively cold all the time can be a symptom of anxiety.