Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips!

Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment.

If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.

I think the biggest one is probably the hat. I know you said that there's a shape of the headset causing some issues but I think you need to figure a way around that you lose a lot of heat through your head

Do some squats every hour and or jumping jacks. Keep your heart rate up/increase your physical activity. Consider a standing desk or an under the desk exercise "bike".

Large Water bottle or one of those heated pads that you can add warm liquids to. I do this camping when I'm sleeping in cold environments. Fill the container with as hot of water as you can stand on bare skin without pain. One between the legs and one near my chest does the trick for a couple of hours. Refill when needed.

Long johns. More layers. Silk and wool. Drink warm liquids (hot tea, hot chocolate, warm chicken broth)

Is your chair a mesh fabric? Drape a blanket over the chair and sit on that, so no air is coming through to your back or seat. Since you can’t wear a hat (are you sure you can’t wear a beanie?), try covering your head in at least a handkerchief, like a biker or Hulk Hogan. Thin gloves w the finger cut out will help keep your hands warmer and you’ll still be able to work on a computer.

Do as many of these as you can and see if it helps; I’ve been cold for much of my life, and these things have helped me.

Got my wife a heated snuggy. It has arm sleeves and footies and you plug it in and turn it on.

I'm not a medical professional but perhaps a look into iron levels, thyroid, other possible definciencies bears looking into.

Also a heated blanket while working might be more energy efficient than a space heater.

Get your thyroid checked :)

A lap electric blanket should keep you warmer than a space heater and be much cheaper.

If you're cold all the time in front of a space heater, consider the possibility of medical problems. My first impulse is anemia but I'm not a doctor and even a real doctor would want a blood test.

It could be low thyroid issues. Measure your body temps first thing when waking. If they are consistently low, likely your thyroid is low.

Try a drop or 2 of iodine a day.

If its circulation issues, try cayenne capsules.

I was about to suggest that. Of course as a medical professional the only advice I can give over the internet is to go see a doctor but yeah. OP should get their Iron and thyroid levels checked.

I am the same as you. Always cold.

I try to keep moving and get the blood pumping a little bit to warm up and also use a microwaveable heating pad.

I think we should both go see a doctor haha

Also drink hot tea

Maybe invest in some cheap thermal underclothing-- a long sleeve thermal top, and cuffed leggings so you're not getting a draught going up your legs. It's better to wear several thin layers, so you could add a lightweight gilet between the hoodie and jacket. You could also add a thin scarf to keep your neck warm if you can't wear a hat.

Thin thermal socks that you can wear comfortably in bed without making your feet sweat, and under your normal socks when you're working. Thermal half finger gloves might help keep your hands warm. You could try getting a small plug in ceramic heater that will warm up the immediate area around you without using much electricity.

It might be worth getting a blood test for your thyroid, as an underactive thyroid gland can cause temperature dysregulation.

They make USB gloves that are heated. A heated blanket, as others have said. They make a heated snuggy for your feet. All of these are more efficient than trying to heat the air around you.

Wool socks I guarantee this is the way

If you can rule out health related issues then try:

Multiple layers of clothing, have tops and trousers overlap so that no cold air slips in. Hot beverages and food help as well. If you can spice your food hot. Eat enough, I get cold if my body is lacking something to convert into heat, then at the latest I eat. Do you have insulation between your feet and the ground? Try shoes or blankets/pillows (wool does an exceptional job) If possible wear any form of cap under your headset or get a hat to cut into shape so you can wear your headset, one loses a lot of heat through the headsurface. Is your chair comfy and warm, or does it drain heat? Pit a wool blanket on it. Regular exercise (through our the week) helps a lot

That's stuff that helps me survive winter, I am sensitive to cold more than I like to admit...

As someone with both low iron levels AND hypothyroidism - hard agree! I am a lizard person like OP. My fiancé generates so much damn heat when he sleeps, and I still have to have an insulated sleeping bag on top of my side of the blanket to stay warm, and even then my toes are still freezing. I just cannot make my own body heat 🤷‍♀️

I know it's not popular, but what about exercise? What do you do to stimulate blood flow throughout your body? Do you break up sitting periods with short walks, or other calisthenics? My office is only 62 F, but short walks / pushups / pullups throughout the day keep me warm and focused. (I also wear leg warmers tbh). Just ideas, don't shoot the (exercise) messenger.

A heating pad directly on your lower back (kidneys) can help your core to warm up.

Others have suggested some tests and checks. I'll recommend seeing an acupuncturist. Whether or not you believe in traditional Chinese medicine is irrelevant. An acupuncturist can adjust your chi to the point of affecting your daily life..... in a good way.

A necktube like a Buff will allow for headset use and keep warmth in.

I walk around the house in a thick robe on top my clothes

I'm not a medical professional but I am speaking from years of experience with cold suffering and my trial and error to end it. I even cured my own Reynauds syndrome through elimination of bad actors (Reynauds is an overreaction to cold restricting blood flow to the core body/vital organs and leaving your toes and fingers numb, yellow and useless.

My advice is based on what you consume daily, as this affects your body massively. Cold feeling is the start, your sensitivity could be a sign of long-term problems you can help solve now.

Firstly, if you smoke stop straight away. Nicotine limits blood flow to the extremities and over time damages nerve cells starting at the tips of your limbs, meaning blood flow will be reduced and you'll feel colder no only when smoking but also after years of smoking. This changes rapidly when you quit and gets better over years too. I used to be a smoker.

Secondly, sugar. Sugar has the same effect as nicotine on the nervous system overtime, I'm talking your high fructose garbage foods and sweets. Basically anything sweetened unnaturally that isn't whole fruits and berries (i.e. eaten with natural fiber). It's a common sign of pre-diabetes to have poor circulation in your limbs, in the worst cases of obesity/diabetes you'll lose those limbs, which is also what happens to life-long smokers.

Thirdly caffeine. Caffeine affects bloodflow too in a different way but much more immediately for the half life of the amount consumed. I used to drink a coffee (most powerful) and literally feel my body starting to get cold, then I'd shiver at my desk all day on a sunny May afternoon. The less you drink the better this affect gets just like the other two.

Lastly, cold exposure. Research ice baths, open water swimming, or ice bathing for hands if you want to start small, hell just start ending your daily showers on cold for a minute that'll begin the process. Whim Hof and other breathing techniques, as well as pre and post-exposure work outs or food are a must, this last bit is harder to do but will go a great way to recalibrating your bodies overreaction to the cold and seeing off any remaining problems. I now take daily ice baths and and typically feel the warmest in the room at work/home/out.

All of the above is basically my life story of the last five years (32 now), not only to feel warmer but also to combat the negative effects of pre-diabetes, obesity, brain health decline, emotional mood swings, mental health depression that I built up in my early 20s making poor choices. Try each one at a time and feel how your body reacts, it all stats will self awareness.

EDIT: weight is a huge factor. Fat people run hot (unless they have the symptoms above), slim people tend to feel chill. I'm slim so I can't spend as long in an ice bath or cold pool as a fatter person, but that's natural. Fat is a natural insulator. So if you're skinny keep this in mind.

Eat cheeseburgers, get fat.

I would get a complete physical. Your primary care physician should be able to narrow down the testing, but it is a very specific symptom to chase.

I hope you find the perfect solution. It sounds miserable 😕

[removed]

Go to a doctor first. There could be so many reasons.

Low blood pressure, the beginning of a diabetes, heart problems, thyroid problems, hidden inflammations... The list is endless.

If the doctor says it's all clear, there's another possibility:

Too little movement.

It seems you WFH and sit long periods of time. This can lead to bad blood circulation and then you're cold and it's very hard to warm up again unless you get your blood circulation up again. Try to implement short gymnastic routines, running in one place, jump up and down a few times, stretching etc. at least for a few minutes every hour. Flash-dancing or bunny hopping to and from the bathroom will help too.

Hot and cold showers at least of your legs and hips every morning helps too to get your blood running, and even if it sounds counter intuitive end it with a cold shower, that tightens your blood vessels in the skin and you'll feel warmer.

Drink hot tea. Get yourself a teapot and a heater. Then drink hot tea. As hot as you can. Warm your hands on the cup. Brings your core temperature up.

I wear two pairs of pants even indoors during particularly cold times, two pairs of socks too or just one of the really thick ones. If your feet and legs are cold it'll be much harder for the rest of your body to get warm because of the warmth your blood provides (blood gets cold when running through cold legs/feet and then the rest of the body has to warm it up again), so make sure your legs and feet are also well taken care of.

I have a medium-sized thick blanket that I use in my computer chair and in bed (under my duvet) and now I have another blanket for the couch so I don't have to be moving my one thick blanket everywhere.

Also got a pair of those socks/slipper things, totally worth it. They even make my feet too warm if I have them under the blanket too sometimes.