Warm sleepers and cold sleepers are indeed born that way, due in large part to metabolism and body size. But a whole bunch of other factors come into play that influence your ability to sleep comfortably through the night, such as how much water and food you consumed that day and how much insulation lies between you and the heat-sucking ground.

So, cold sleepers, don't despair. You can level the playing field with a few easy-to-follow tips to help you generate and conserve more body heat when the night turns frosty. Here's how:

1. Get enough "bag" for your buck. Select a temperature rating for your sleeping bag that's adequate for the nighttime temperatures you're likely to encounter. Head into New Hampshire's White Mountains in November with a 35-degree bag, for example, and you'll likely be a cold pup.

"your slam-dunk choice is a
mummy-cut bag"

2. Hold onto your heat. A sleeping bag's design plays a big role in your ability to retain body heat. If you're a serious camper or backpacker, your slam-dunk choice is a mummy-cut bag for the simple reason that there's less empty space inside that needs to be heated and the close-fitting hood prevents heat from escaping. (Attention women: new women's bags conform to the realities of the female form and metabolism—narrower fitting in the shoulders, wider in the hips, shorter overall, and extra insulation in the foot area—to create a bag that's easier to heat up.)

Other warmth-enhancing bag features to look for: an insulated draft collar, which drapes or cinches around your neck like a gasket to seal in heat; a hood with loads of insulation as well as cinch cords to narrow the face opening; and an insulated zipper draft tube running the entire length of the zipper.

3. Get off the ground. The ground is always colder than you, so without an insulating layer between you and it, you'll be robbed of precious body heat. Your best bets in pads are either the closed-cell foam variety or self-inflaters. Tip: When camping on snow or frozen ground, the best formula for warmth is to carry two pads, a smooth, full-length closed-cell foam pad topped with a full-length self-inflater.

4. Eat before you sleep. Think of your body as a furnace that needs stoking with food to generate heat. Treat yourself to some high-calorie indulgences before turning in. For quick heat, carbohydrates like a cereal bar will rev your internal motor almost instantly, but the burn peters out after a few hours. That's where proteins and fats come in. Peanuts and beef jerky, for example, are like big ol' Yule logs that burn long and slowly to help generate metabolic heat into the wee hours.

5. Drink your fill. Blood is to your body what water is to a hot-water heating system in a house. Run low on fluid and your blood pressure begins to drop as the volume of blood decreases. Another side effect is that blood viscosity increases and flow becomes sluggish, which slows its progress throughout small capillaries in your extremities. The sum total is you'll begin to feel cold. Get in the habit of drinking beverages even before you feel thirsty throughout the day and hydrate in a big way at dinner time.

Tip: Cold water causes a direct net energy loss, so drink warm beverages before bedtime.

6. Zip into a tent. A tent creates a buffered airspace around you to counteract heat loss on calm, cold nights as well as windy nights. Maximize your tent's warmth potential by pitching camp sheltered from prevailing winds, and try to stay out of depressions or hollows where cold air settles. To ward-off morning chill, scout out a tent location that will receive full sunlight at daybreak.

Tip: four-season campers should consider purchasing a convertible tent with zip in-zip out panels that cover breezy mesh panels to retain precious body heat. A well designed tent can be 5 to 10 degrees warmer than the outside temperature.

    "Vital to staying warm: cover your noggin"

7. Wear the right amount of clothing. Too much bulky clothing can strangle blood flow and needlessly compress the bag's insulation. Wear non-constricting synthetic long underwear; preferably, a pair that's not damp from the day's activities. Vital to staying warm: cover your noggin with a synthetic or wool pullover hat.

9. Get your blood pumping. Remember as a kid when you warmed your hands by swinging your arms like a windmill? That's centrifugal force powering blood into your extremities, and it works. So does a brisk jog-in-place, or anything that temporarily elevates the heart rate. As simple as it sounds, brief exercise prior to bedding down will turn your body into a blast furnace that quickly transforms a crinkly, cold nylon bag into a cozy cocoon.

Conversely, once inside the bag try to keep your movement to a minimum. Thrashing and rolling creates a bellows effect that blows hard-earned warmth right out the neck opening of the bag.

10. Maintain loft. Trapped air is at the core of a sleeping bag's ability to retain your body heat, so it figures that the more fluffed up and "lofty" the bag the greater it's heat conserving ability. When you arrive in camp, unroll your sleeping bag as soon as possible and grab one end and give it a few good fluffing shakes. At home, avoid keeping a bag compressed too much or too long. Synthetic fills are more easily damaged in this way than down. Worse still is leaving a stuffed synthetic bag to overheat in the trunk of your car. _________________________________________________________________________________________

Know someone who may be interested in Scouting?  Share this link with a friend.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Scoutmaster's Minute
By Peter Zirpolo, Scoutmaster Troop 740

Be Prepared.

What does it mean to you?

What should it mean to you?

When should you apply it?

These are some of the questions you should be asking yourself on a daily basis.

Someone once asked me what the most important thing I had learned when I was a kid.  I told them "Be Prepared".  He said "oh, that Boy Scout thing."  I said "yea ok", then I let him have it!  I don't mean with a right cross to the chops.  I sat him down, bought him a cup of coffee, and I told him what "Be Prepared" means to me.  It means to make sure your deadlines are met, not rushed.  Ask yourself "did I do my best on the project or did I just get by?"  Did I learn something today or did I just go through the motions. We all have our good days and bad days, you have to choose which one it will be.  If you are prepared for the day then you choose to make it a good one. No matter what happens you make the choice.  Choose to Be Prepared.

-Mr. Pete

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Suggestion Box
Send your suggestions to Troop 740 by clicking on the suggestion box.

Information posted on Summer Camp 2008, Camp Horseshoe.

_________________________________________________________________________________________
Bulletin Board:
Inclement Weather Policy:
~If Baltimore County schools are closed, or close early due to bad weather, the Troop's regular meetings are cancelled. Regardless if weather improves, the meeting will be still be canceled.  This is an IHM Parish Policy.
~If Baltimore County schools open late, but close at normal time, the Troop will meet as scheduled.
~If Phase II of the Snow Emergency Plan is in effect in Baltimore County at 6:30PM, the Troop's regular meeting is canceled.
~If there is inclement weather on a day the Troop is scheduled to leave on a camping trip, or bad weather is forecast for the weekend, the Troop will make its own decision as to whether or not to cancel the trip.  The decision will be based primarily on safety of the boys and adults in getting to and from the campsite.  The Troop will notify the boys and adults as soon as possible after a decision is made.
~As the Troop website may not be able to be immediately updated during a sudden change of plans, please contact the Scoutmaster or a Patrol Leader with any questions or concerns about adjustments in the schedule.

Summer Camp 2008:
No, Don't worry - you don't have to pick your merit badges or buy batteries for your portable fan yet, but if you plan on attending, a $50 Deposit for registration is due February 28th at the Scout Meeting.  More Summer Camp information will be available online soon, any questions can be answered by the scoutmaster.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Upcoming Events:
Check the Schedule on the Home Page for the most recently updated list of events and meetings.

Scout Meeting: Thursday, January 31, 2008 @ 7:30pm
Troop Meeting Room/ IHM

Baltimore Blast 2008 Boy Scout Night
Saturday, February  2, 2008 @ 7:35pm
1st Mariner Area, Baltimore
Tickets Cost $15.  Contact the Scoutmaster for more information.

Scout Meeting: Thursday, February  7, 2008 @ 7:30pm
Troop Meeting Room/ IHM

Crier: Saturday, February 9, 2008 @ 9:15am
Front Parking Lot/ IHM

Cabin Camping at Camp Tuckahoe
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday February 15-18, 2008 @ Departure Time TBA
Meet at the Troop Shed/ Back Lot/ IHM
Special Note: Trip Scheduled thru Sunday until Monday, President's Day

Committee Meeting: Tuesday, February 19, 2008 @ 7:30pm
BCoPD Hillendale Substation (Loch Raven Blvd. & Taylor Ave.)

Scout Meeting: Thursday, February  21, 2008 @ 7:30pm
Troop Meeting Room/ IHM

Scout Meeting: Thursday, February  28, 2008 @ 7:30pm
Troop Meeting Room/ IHM
Special Note: $50 Summercamp Deposit due this meeting.

Upcoming Trips:

March 28-30, 2008
Tent Camping at Camp Kalor, (Northern Baltimore County)

April 18-20, 2008
Tent Camping at Sandy Point State Park, (Youth Group Area B)

May 16-18, 2008
Tent Camping at Wye Island Natural Resources Management Area (Dividing Creek Area No. 1)

June 7, 2008
9th Annual Boy Scout Family Picnic (Double Rock State Park)

July 13-19, 2008
Summer Camp (Horseshoe Scout Reservation)
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Visit the Troop's Website today!
More information on upcoming trips, events and meetings is only a click away