Always Cold? How to Get Warm to the Bones This Winter
You're the one in a jumper in July. Your hands are ice on a summer evening, and your feet take an hour to warm up in bed. If that's you, you're in big company: around 4,400 people a month in the UK search for "cold hands and feet".
This winter, stop shivering through it. Here's how to get warm right to the bones, and how to make that feeling last.
Why your hands and feet feel it first
When you get cold, the small blood vessels in your skin narrow to keep warmth in the middle of your body. Your fingers and toes are the furthest point from your core, so they're first to go cold and last to warm up.
The answer is warmth that goes deep. Not a quick blast from a heater, but heat that sinks into your muscles and stays there.
1. Infrared sauna: deep, even warmth
An infrared sauna is gentle, radiant heat that wraps round you from every side. You settle into a private wellness room, lights low, your own music playing, and feel the warmth soak in. No rush, no crowd, no chill sneaking in.
Thirty minutes is £25. At Union Square, Aberdeen, book the Red Light-Infused Infrared Sauna and bask in warm red light too. At Lothian Road, Edinburgh, our private basement wellness suite pairs the infrared sauna with a hot or cold plunge and a relaxation lounge.
2. Hot stone massage: warmth that sinks in
Around 6,600 people a month in the UK search for hot stone massage. One session and you'll know why.
Smooth, heated basalt stones glide along your back, shoulders and legs, while your therapist works the warmth deep into tight muscles. Then the stones rest in place, holding heat in the spots that feel coldest. It's the warmest hour you'll spend all winter.
And it does more than warm you. In a major review of 37 studies, a single massage lowered how anxious people felt, along with their heart rate and blood pressure. Warm and calm, in one booking.
Hot stone massage is at every PURE spa: 40 minutes from £72, 60 minutes from £100 and 90 minutes from £140. Book 60 minutes or longer and you also get 60 minutes of spa and wellness facilities included (facilities vary by spa, visit our spa page for details).
3. Fire & Ice: the full-body rush
If you want to feel alive from head to toe, this is it. Fire & Ice contrast therapy moves you between deep heat and an icy plunge. The cold makes your skin tingle and your heart quicken. Then you step back into the heat and a rush of warmth floods through you, right to your fingertips.
Sports scientists have put it to the test. A review of contrast-water trials with 356 people found that hot-cold contrast left muscles less sore after hard exercise than simply resting.
Fire & Ice is 60 minutes for £40 at Union Square, Aberdeen and Lothian Road, Edinburgh. Short on time? A 10-minute Cold Water Therapy plunge is £15, and the glow when you warm back up is something else.
The warm-to-the-bones pairings
Want to stay toasty all evening? Stack your warmth.
- Sauna, then stones. Thirty minutes of infrared sauna for £25, then a 60-minute hot stone massage from £100. You start warm and finish warmer, at Union Square or Lothian Road.
- Fire & Ice, then stones. Sixty minutes of hot-cold contrast for £40, then a 60-minute hot stone massage from £100. Two hours that leave you glowing for the rest of the day.
- Warm up together. The Wellness Suite for Two at Lothian Road gives you 120 minutes in a private suite with an infrared sauna, a hot or cold plunge and a relaxation lounge, for £310. Pure warmth, shared.
Stay warm between visits
- Layer up before you head out, not after you feel the chill. Gloves and thick socks first.
- Keep moving. A brisk ten-minute walk warms you through faster than a radiator.
- Warm from the inside. A hot mug of something wrapped in both hands is a small daily joy.
- Book the next one. A weekly sauna or a monthly hot stone massage gives you a warm spot to look forward to all winter.
Every PURE spa is open seven days a week and late, so you can warm up after work, at the weekend or whenever the cold gets to you.
Stop counting down to spring. Book your warmth online today and get properly, deeply, gloriously warm.
Pregnant or under medical care? Have a quick word with your GP before you book.
A wellness experience, not a medical treatment.
Frequently asked questions
Why are my hands and feet always cold?
When you get cold, the small blood vessels in your skin narrow to hold warmth in your core, and your fingers and toes are furthest from the middle. That's why they chill first. Deep, lasting warmth is the answer: a 30-minute infrared sauna at PURE for £25 or a hot stone massage from £72. Book online and warm up properly.
What is the most warming spa experience?
A hot stone massage. Heated basalt stones glide over your back and legs, then rest in place to hold warmth where you feel coldest. It's at every PURE spa, from £72 for 40 minutes, and 60 minutes or longer includes 60 minutes of spa and wellness facilities. Add a 30-minute infrared sauna for £25 first.
Is an infrared sauna good when you're always cold?
It's one of the cosiest half hours you can book. Gentle, radiant heat surrounds you in a private wellness room while you relax with your own music. Thirty minutes is £25, and at Union Square, Aberdeen you can choose the Red Light-Infused Infrared Sauna. Pair it with a hot stone massage for warmth that lasts all evening.
What is Fire & Ice contrast therapy?
Fire & Ice moves you between deep heat and an icy plunge for 60 minutes. The cold makes you tingle, then the heat sends a rush of warmth right to your fingertips. In trials with 356 people, hot-cold contrast left muscles less sore than rest. It's £40 at Union Square and Lothian Road. Book online.
Can two of us warm up together?
Yes. The Wellness Suite for Two at Lothian Road, Edinburgh is 120 minutes in a private suite with an infrared sauna, a hot or cold plunge and a relaxation lounge, for £310. It's the warmest date night in the city and a brilliant winter gift. Book online and pick the evening that suits you both.
How long should a hot stone massage be?
Sixty minutes is the favourite: long enough for the stones to work warmth into your back, shoulders and legs, and it includes 60 minutes of spa and wellness facilities. It's from £100. Ninety minutes, from £140, is pure luxury on a freezing day. Short on time? Forty minutes from £72. Book online at any PURE spa.
Sources
- Moyer CA, Rounds J, Hannum JW (2004). A meta-analysis of massage therapy research. Psychological Bulletin 130(1):3-18. https://qigonginstitute.org/abstract-print/3818
- Bieuzen F, Bleakley CM, Costello JT (2013). Contrast water therapy and exercise induced muscle damage: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLOS ONE. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3633882
