Drafts: How dangerous it is and how you protect yourself

A stiff neck again? We explain to you in which situations drafts can arise. We’ll also give you tips on how to protect yourself from drafts.

This is draft

Perhaps you have experienced this before: As if out of nowhere you suddenly have back or Neck pain. You didn’t strain your body too much. It could also have another cause, namely drafts. This is air that you often perceive as flowing and cold. If your neck or back is exposed to this airflow for a long time, pain can occur.

Typical situations with drafts

There are various “draft” situations that make it easier for you to get yourself a draft. Examples are:

• drive in an open convertible or open the windows while driving
• Come into an air-conditioned room that is at least six degrees difference to the outside temperature
• sit directly in front of an air conditioner or fan
• sleep in the apartment with the windows open so that there is a draft.

This is how your body reacts to drafts

• When there is a strong gust of wind, the skin vessels contract, around the body to keep warm.

• Unfortunately, if you sit in a draft for a long time, this protective mechanism does not work: The muscles in the neck and back can tense more easily because the skin temperature drops after a long time. This cools down the muscles, they are no longer properly supplied with blood and brace.

Notice: Especially in summer, drafts can be a problem because we wear light clothing without a scarf or turtleneck.

Four tips to avoid drafts

We have four tips for you on how to deal with drafts:

1. Cover your neck with a bandana, scarf, or collarif you are sitting in an air-conditioned place for a long time. That would be train compartments, restaurants or cinemas, for example.
2. If you are prone to drafts, you should avoid leaving windows open for long periods of time – whether in the car or overnight in the bedroom. Instead, ventilate regularly to cool the rooms down.
3. Sealing doors also helps to stop drafts.
4. Avoid fans and air conditioners in summer, which cause drafts. Instead, find other alternatives to cool yourself off:

• For example, you can darken the apartment with sheets so that the sun does not directly charge the apartment.
• You can also hang up wet towels to increase the humidity in the room.
• You can also make sure to drink a lot and keep your face, feet, and wrists cool with cold water.

Do you have muscle tension or a muscle tension for several days or weeks stiff neck, you should seek medical advice. It can be that not only drafts, but perhaps an overload of your muscles or psychological problems trigger for your pain

Tip: In addition, you should keep your back healthy by building the muscles for a longer period of time. So she can tense up less. A Back school, the costs of which are partially covered by the health insurance companies, can be preventive Back pain prevent.

Read more on Techzle.com:

• Back massage: tips and tricks for a relaxing massage
• Back training: simple exercises for strong muscles
• Heat in the office: what to do about it