Dear LPG, 

I know that we are all forgetting about winter now that spring is with us but I wonder if I am the only one with this problem.  No matter how hard I try, short of leaving the heating on all night which I cannot afford to do, I never seem to get warm enough when trying to sleep, so I took a look at the internet to see if there are any suggestions there that I have not tried before.

Most of the websites that I looked at offered the same advice, but I have tried a few things that have made a difference.  I have taken to having a bath before bed and adding an extra duvet above the other (I am not sure that it makes me any warmer... perhaps that one is a case of ‘mind over matter’), and I have invested in some thermal underwear for under my PJs.  I have always been very wary of electric blankets, but I have invested in another hot water bottle an item I have not used for at least 30 years. 

My wife has spent quite a lot of this winter in hospital and I think adjusting to sleeping alone also has had an effect on how warm I get at night. At our age I don’t even think we make much contact at all during the night, but I find nights alone really hard to deal with.  There is something to be said for sharing a bed during the night even if sharing contact body-heat is not part of the deal anymore, no matter how old we are, and perhaps the anxiety I am feeling with regard to my wife’s health is not helping much either, because we all know that we have more time for anxious thoughts during the night.  However I am lucky because she is due to return home very soon.

Not having her with me at the moment has got me thinking about how many people of my age do not have the luxury of a significant other at any time of year, and I would like to share some of the information that I have found in case it helps.

 XX, Lewisham.

In the light of the subject that is discussed here the writer of this post asked to remain even more anonymous than our normal writers; hence the vagueness.

Here are some of the links that XX wanted to share.

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