Michael Mosley shares heating hack that can save cash and help prevent diabetes

11 December 2023 , 11:39

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Doctor Michael Mosley shared his thermostat tip on his podcast (Image: Getty Images)

TV doctor and health guru Michael Mosley has claimed you a simple thermostat hack can have a lot of unexpected benefits - from possibly helping to prevent diabetes and lower blood pressure - and'll save you money too.

The winter months have brought some bitterly cold weather with them so far, and most households have already decided to put the heating on to keep themselves warm. But with energy bills sky-high, many of us are having to think carefully about how long to have the heating on and whether it's worth turning the temperature down a few degrees.

According to health expert Doctor Michael Mosley - known for creating the Fast 800 diet and popularising the 5:2 diet - we should be embracing the cold a little more, as he said turning your thermostat down could have some surprising health benefits, including lower cholesterol and blood pressure.

Turning the thermostat down may help prevent diabetes in a roundabout manner (Getty Images)

Speaking on his Cold Therapy podcast on BBC Radio 4, he said: "In recent years, as energy bills have soared and we have become much more aware of the dangers of climate change, many of us have decided in the colder months to turn the thermostat down a bit. It's something we do in our house, where the thermostat is kept quite low. That's because as well as saving money and helping to reduce carbon emissions, I'm convinced there are health benefits to lowering the temperature.

"I'm not talking about the relentless suffering and misery of fuel poverty, but how deliberate periods of cold could actually be good for us. Studies suggest turning down your thermostat by a few degrees can improve your metabolic health and might protect against type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. And when you've gotten used to it, living in a cooler space can even boost your mood."

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Doctor Mosley explained that his house is "expensive to heat" so in the winter months, he and his wife wrap up warm and keep their thermostat at around 15 degrees. When he spoke to Doctor Hannah Pallubinsky, assistant professor at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, she explained that regular exposure to lower temperatures of around 15 degrees can have some surprising health benefits.

Hannah conducted a study which showed those who were exposed to colder temperatures for several days - known as cold acclimation - had reduced blood pressure, and according to Doctor Mosley, "there's also evidence it can lower cholesterol, lead to a boost in mood and energy levels, and some people even seem to get a serotonin and dopamine kick from it".

When it comes to diabetes, Hannah's research showed that repeated exposure to a relatively cold room can help "improve glucose metabolism", which controls how quickly sugar is removed from the body.

The professor explained: "We exposed people to 10 days of cold at around 15 degrees for six hours per day. Before and after we took measurements looking at the glucose metabolism and some markers in muscle, and we saw that after 10 days of cold acclimation, there were some improvements in glucose metabolism. People were even up to 40% better at maintaining their glucose metabolism.

"This was due to something called glucose transporter four, and we saw much more of that in muscle cells after cold acclimation. It's a protein that can help remove the glucose from the bloodstream more quickly, which is a positive thing because that improves glucose metabolism."

Zahna Eklund