The lowest observed temperature in February in 2023 has been minus 13 degrees, according to the National Weather Service, yet students around St. Thomas often lack the layers necessary to stay warm.
Students can be seen walking around campus without coats, hats, insulated shoes, and in some situations, long pants leading to more long-term damage than they would expect.
“Extremities lose heat faster, feet, hands, head,” St. Thomas department of health and exercise science assistant professor Adam Korak said. “So if you’re not into maybe [putting] on four layers, [putting] on that big coat [and] a hat is key.”
The lack of desire to layer can stem from sociocultural perceptions. Many teens conclude that feeling warm is not worth the loss of social cachet, according to the Star Tribune.
“I see a lot of students walking around without proper winter attire,” senior Megan Torrel said. “If I don’t wear the layers I wear, I’m freezing and shivering everywhere I go.”
When people shiver, their bodies are reacting to the minimal amount of clothing by having an involuntary muscular contraction.
“You shiver until you warm yourself and then you stop,” Korak said. “That’s your body trying to dissipate heat.”
This occurs when students reject proper winter weather clothing, leading to sweating. This creates a high-temperature change in the body.
“[When] you start to sweat, blood flow actually goes out to the outer layers of your skin,” Korak said. “You sweat and the only way for heat exchange to go from your skin out to the air is for sweat to evaporate.”
This is why multiple layers are important compared to just one. The fewer layers you wear, the harder it is for your body to stay dry due to the moisture leaving your body.
According to Korak, one of the worst possible scenarios is having your layers get wet.
“Because of water, you lose heat 25 times faster than on dry land,” Korak said. “The worst thing that can happen out here is you fall in the Mississippi River and all of your clothes get wet.”
Ultimately, the more layers that you wear, the easier it is for the liquid to avoid reaching evaporation.
“It’s as simple as a long winter coat with pockets and a hood, thicker socks, and some gloves,” Torrel said. “Not only then are you comfortable, but you are protecting your skin and your body.”
Annabelle Wiskus can be reached at wisk9881@stthomas.edu.
Students who do not know how to dress for the cold surely need to be told to get 8 hours of sleep, eat a good breakfast, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, brush their teeth and floss regularly, cross Summit only at the crosswalk, and don’t drink or use drugs. Glad that UST faculty are fountains of such homely advice .