Your mother doesn’t let you take off your long johns in the spring, you can use this to refute her!

The spring of the Year of the Tiger has quietly arrived. Looking at the tender green grass sprouting from the roadside, the golden jasmine, the graceful magnolia, and the budding crabapple...

Winter jasmine, picture from Tadpole Jun

All this vibrant scenery makes us feel that spring is getting closer, so we are eager to take off our winter clothes.

But every time this time comes, our parents will tell us, "Children, keep warm in spring and keep cold in autumn. You must keep warm in spring and don't take off your cotton clothes too early." Forced to follow our parents' arrangements, we continue to wear winter clothes, thinking resentfully in our hearts: Is it really necessary to wear so many clothes?

Does it make sense to cover up in spring?

There is a saying among the Chinese people that "keeping warm in spring and keeping cold in autumn will prevent diseases", especially in early spring when the temperature has just started to rise. Do not take off your cotton clothes too early, but keep warm. Is this saying true? In fact, keeping warm in spring is a conclusion drawn based on a comprehensive judgment of many factors and has a certain scientific basis.

Climate factors

When winter turns to early spring, it is warm but still cold, with a big temperature difference between morning and evening, just like a child's face, which changes three times a day. There is also a folk saying that "north wind blows during the Waking of Insects, and winter begins all over again", which means that after the temperature rises in early spring, it often remains low as if we have suddenly returned to winter. We call this kind of weather a late spring cold snap.

Whenever there is a late spring cold snap, people can't help but lament that they finally survived the winter, but almost froze to death in the spring! Therefore, it is not suitable to take off cotton clothes in early spring, and people find it difficult to adapt to the onset of the late spring cold snap.

Physical factors

People wear thick cotton-padded clothes in winter. At this time, the body's heat production and heat dissipation are in a relatively balanced state with the ambient temperature. If you still insist on taking off your cotton-padded clothes when the temperature drops in early spring, the body will not be able to quickly adjust the balance between heat production and heat dissipation and the temperature, which will cause the body temperature to drop and easily cause a cold.

Spring disease factors

Spring is a peak season for disease, with various viruses and bacteria more active. Epidemics such as respiratory diseases, influenza, and allergies are particularly likely to strike.

Therefore, during the seasonal change period in early spring, we should not change into light clothes too early. Proper covering is good for the body and can reduce the probability of contracting various spring epidemics.

How to cover up in spring?

Spring cover is to adapt to the characteristics of spring weather changes and prevent physical discomfort and other diseases that are prone to occur in spring. Many friends do not know how to cover properly in spring, but only know that they should wear cotton clothes for a longer period of time. So how should we cover properly in spring?

Clothes should be reduced

Qiu Chuji, a famous health practitioner in the Yuan Dynasty, once proposed in his book "Health Preservation News Theory" that "the weather varies from cold to warm, so you can't take off your cotton clothes all of a sudden. Prepare padded clothes from time to time and change them when it gets warm, one layer at a time, but don't take them off suddenly." This explains the key to keeping warm in spring.

In early spring, the human body is just waking up from hibernation, so we should not rush to take off our winter clothes during this period. Instead, we should gradually reduce the thickness of clothes according to different physical conditions of each person.

Spring cover should be moderate

"Covering up in spring" does not mean covering the whole body tightly, but it should follow the principle of protecting key parts and covering the upper part with thin clothes and the lower part with thick clothes.

Ensure "four warmth":

First, keep your head warm. The head is the place where many meridians of the human body gather. You should dry your hair in time or wear a hat to avoid the spring breeze blowing directly on your head.

Second, keep your legs and feet warm. The blood circulation in the lower part of the human body is worse than that in the upper part, so it is easy to get cold. Therefore, wear thicker pants and shoes in spring, and don't expose your ankles too early.

Third, keep your back warm. Keeping your back warm can reduce the chance of catching a cold, so it is recommended to put on a spare coat after turning off the heating indoors;

Fourth, keep your abdomen warm. A cold abdomen can easily lead to gastrointestinal diseases, so don't wear short clothes that expose your belly in early spring, and protect your abdomen.

How long should we keep warm in spring?

In the north, the real spring starts from mid-March to the end of May. Is it necessary to strictly keep warm throughout the entire spring?

In fact, there is a certain pattern to follow in the spring covering time. You should add or remove clothes appropriately according to the temperature. If you still cover yourself too tightly at the end of spring, such covering may make you "get angry".

Everyone can remember that the temperature of 8 and 15 is the key, which means that when the temperature difference between day and night in spring is above 8℃, we still need to cover ourselves, but if it exceeds 15℃, we don’t need to cover ourselves. (Even if it is what my mother said, you can refute it)

15℃ is the critical temperature in spring. When the average temperature is below 15℃, you should wear thick clothes; when the average temperature reaches 15℃, you should still keep warm.

Especially for children, elderly people or those who are infirm; when the average temperature exceeds 15℃ and the temperature is relatively stable for three consecutive days, you can change into a slightly thinner coat.

In addition, the peak incidence of many diseases is closely related to cold air and continued cooling. Therefore, we must pay special attention to the weather forecast in spring and wear thick clothes 24-48 hours before the arrival of cold air to prevent the body from adapting to the sudden drop in temperature.

The beginning of the year begins in spring. The air is fresh and the flowers are blooming. It should be the beginning of our healthy life and is most conducive to getting rid of the old and welcoming the new. Starting from this spring, we should accept and do a good job of keeping warm in spring to avoid getting sick, so that this year can have a full of energy start!

Image source: Wikipedia

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Review expert: Song Ge, Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Associate Chief Physician.

Tadpole Musical Notation original article, please indicate the source when reprinting

Editor/Xiao Xitushuo