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cartman
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PostWed Mar 07, 2012 10:04 pm 
When speaking of keeping warm, the focus usually tends to be on clothes and gear, minimizing sweating, eating etc. Here's a different take: If it's cold, pee as soon as you feel the need. The bladder is part of your core, and if you have a sack of water in your core your body is going to shift arterial blood to that area to keep it warm at the expense of other areas, mostly the extremities. Get rid of the water and have more warm circulating blood available for other regions. Especially important when you're not on the move and when sleeping.

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puzzlr
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PostWed Mar 07, 2012 11:20 pm 
How would you conduct a double blind study of this? Can people pee/not pee without knowing it?

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cascadeclimber
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PostWed Mar 07, 2012 11:33 pm 
puzzlr wrote:
How would you conduct a double blind study of this? Can people pee/not pee without knowing it?
Just wait until you're a bit older...

If not now, when?
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mgd
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PostWed Mar 07, 2012 11:48 pm 
Not sure the study should be done double blind.

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moonspots
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PostThu Mar 08, 2012 6:11 am 
cascadeclimber wrote:
puzzlr wrote:
How would you conduct a double blind study of this? Can people pee/not pee without knowing it?
Just wait until you're a bit older...
rotf.gif

"Out, OUT you demons of Stupidity"! - St Dogbert, patron Saint of Technology
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mike
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PostThu Mar 08, 2012 10:50 am 
Water is very energy dense. Why would you want to remove heat in order to stay warm? confused.gif

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Dane
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PostThu Mar 08, 2012 12:01 pm 
you're getting rid of heat, but as urine is necessarily at thermal equilibrium with your body there can be no net transfer of that heat. so that heat isn't keeping you warm. by urinating you are decreasing the mass of your body, so less heat is required to maintain temperature.

Without judgement what would we do? We would be forced to look at ourselves... -Death
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Jester2000
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PostFri Mar 09, 2012 12:30 pm 
Well, I think the general idea is that the urine, while warm, isn't creating heat -- your body is keeping it warm. Getting rid of it means your body isn't wasting energy keeping liquid that you don't need warm. I've heard of this before, and believe it's true. If nothing else, peeing right before getting in your sleeping bag means it's less likely that you'll haave to get out of your sleeping bag at some point in the night, so it's possible that even if this isn't true, it's still kinda true for a different reason (at least as far as night time warmth goes). This thread reminds me of the Demitri Martin line: "Hiking is just walking where it's okay to pee. Sometimes old people hike accidentally."

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cc11
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PostFri Mar 09, 2012 12:43 pm 
I hate getting out of my Bivy 2 times a night to pee. Worst part about owning one haha

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Slide Alder Slayer
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PostFri Mar 09, 2012 12:52 pm 
This is a long known fact in winter travel; void your bladder to save body heat.

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Beef
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PostFri Mar 09, 2012 1:03 pm 
I don't buy it cartman. A full bladder increases the mass of your body without a linear increase in surface area. Thats why large animals retain heat better than small ones. A full bladder (more mass) means you will take longer to cool down when your metabolism slows during sleep. I do buy the idea that sleep quality is better with an empty bladder than a full one. Improved sleep means you don't notice the discomfort of cold as much as during poor quality sleep. In other words, the perception of cold during sleep is greater when your bladder is full. Here's my hunch on how to achieve the best quality sleep: eat more salt at dinner. It might not be the healthiest strategy, but your body will retain more of its H20 mass without the discomfort of a full bladder.

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mike
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PostFri Mar 09, 2012 2:15 pm 
beefalumpalo wrote:
I don't buy it cartman.
I don't buy it either. People die of hypothermia. In which case the body loses heat faster than it can be generated. Makes no sense to dump more heat. Just have to add kCalories to make up the loss. Comfort is a different issue.

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iron
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PostFri Mar 09, 2012 4:19 pm 
well, the refrigerator comparison is this: if you want to lower the cost of your refrigerator bills, keep it full. it's easier to cool objects, which then stay cold, than air. same principle as generating warmth via a down (puffy) sleeping bag. however, since the body is a closed system and i imagine the bladder doesn't fill with air after you urinate, it's probably a moot point. i believe cartman's theory and is one i try to practice.

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JennieEl
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PostFri Mar 09, 2012 4:32 pm 
I have heard this for years, but I have never noticed that urinating warms me up. It may make me more comfortable, but if I wake up in the night needing to pee, I'm not cold, I just have discomfort from the full bladder. Getting up out of my nice warm bag, tromping through snow to the designated spot, and exposing a previously nice, warm part of my body to the cold and wind, on the other hand, doesn't do a thing to keep my body temperature comfy. Are there any actual studies on this?

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mike
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PostFri Mar 09, 2012 6:19 pm 
Your physics is way off.
iron wrote:
well, the refrigerator comparison is this: if you want to lower the cost of your refrigerator bills, keep it full. it's easier to cool objects, which then stay cold, than air.
Not true. Cooling objects requires removing energy units and can easily be calculated. Cost is related to how much energy has to be removed and how efficient your refrigerator is.
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same principle as generating warmth via a down (puffy) sleeping bag.
No. Down is an insulator. It doesn't generate heat. It simply impedes the transfer of heat.
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however, since the body is a closed system and i imagine the bladder doesn't fill with air after you urinate, it's probably a moot point.
Your body isn't a closed system. It is continually generating heat and losing heat.

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