With winter approaching, people are making sure they have all the proper winter gear, including following their mother’s advice and making sure they have a hat. Let’s face it, nobody wants to question their mother, but is she right about wearing a hat when it’s cold outside? According to Mom, you can lose close to 50% of your body heat through an uncapped noggin. The truth is, some heat escapes, but not as much as you think. More accurately, studies have show that you lose only about 10% of your body heat through exposed skin. Going without a hat when the temperature takes a polar plummet essentially brings the same result as wearing a pair or shorts or tank top in frigid temperatures. Basically, anything that’s not covered allows heat to escape from your body. So where did the myth about losing 50% of your body heat come from? The myth started with an old U.S. Army Field Manual that estimated that soldiers could lose 40% to 45% of their body heat through an uncovered head. However, using that logic means that you could be naked except for a hat and lose about the same amount of body heat as a fully-clothed person with a bare head. Not likely, right? That’s why this cold weather myth melts under the heat of scientific examination. Sorry, Mom.
