How can older people wear flannel in summer?

My grandpa used to do this, too. He farmed, & he’d wear long sleeved shirts. He said it kept the sun off of him. He’s also come in & drink hot coffee.

they’re just “working up a sweat”. it’s good for the bones.~

i wear flannel and drink hot coffee in the summer (and i’m in south florida). also, i am 17.

Outdoor workers in Florida often wear long sleeves and long pants as protection from the sun.

As well, some older people have poor circulation, thus they feel cold when you might not. I have to say, however, that 95 degrees and flannel pushes it!

i think it’s the whole desert thing too, how you wear more clothes to keep the sun from beating down on you.

same way the much younger kids did in the 90s ;).

same way you see girls wearing skirts in winter.

it hurts to look good ;)

I could understand “keeping the sun off of you” but you’d think they would pick something lighter than flannel and jeans that OP mentions.

As people age, it becomes harder and harder for them to maintain their body temperature. (Ever notice how hot they keep their homes?) Usually they get no exercise and their metabolism is slow, so their body has to do a lot of work to generate a normal body temperature.

Going out on a hot day wearing flannel helps a lot, because 95 degrees is close to the 98 degree body temperature. So, to them, the hot day is a blessed relief from the effort their body usually has to go through to keep them warm.

My husband, due to his health problems, also has difficulty maintaining his body temperature. Our house is 78 degrees F, and he always needs a blanket over him at that temperature. Then, when it is 90+ degrees outside, he has to have the heater on in the truck. Fortunately, our truck has duel controls so I can have A?C while he has heat.

It is as @PerryDolia says, a side effect of aging and inactivity.

flanel is meant for cold weather umm duh?

There are several different weights of flannel, that would not be the only consideration. In our house, we have flannel shirts that are so old you can practically see through them when held up to the light. This, plus the fact that as we age, our bodies refuse to work properly, could explain it.

A lot of older people bruise easily as their skin becomes thin and they wear long sleeves and long pants to cover their purple bruises.

I’m wearing flannel AND I have flannel sheets on my bed right now, and I’m not that much older than Tiffany. Don’t knock it till you try it, it’s blissful! I love flannel!

My husband’s grandfather is always jacking the heat up, and he also works outside in flannels and jeans. He is on blood thinner’s for a variety of reason’s related to his age. This may be part of it too.

@Everyone I’m one of the most cold natured people I know. I’m not a flannel hater I promise! I wanted to have a heat stroke just looking at them. I was in shorts and a tank and I was sweating my ass off. I just thought maybe there was another reason they wore long sleeves and pants. Such as, they thought they were getting too old to wear shorts or something else of that nature. Thank you for all of your responses. All of them were helpful.

Because at their age they do whatever they damn well please even if the fashionistas object, a privilege of not worrying what anyone says about you.

Ah, the fashionistas, right, they’re the reason we don’t all cook ourselves with flannel in the summertime.
You’d have a point if the question was about winter.

@Sarcasm Thank you for understanding what I’m asking.

It has alot to do with skin cancer. At least that’s what my grandmother told me!

Elderly people don’t have the same amount of fat tissue in their skin as younger people, so they are missing that extra insulation. Since people radiate heat, the heat leaves a poorly insulated body much quicker than a well insulated body, so older folks cool off more quickly. The flannel (or blanket over their lap, or whatever method they choose) helps prevent them from losing so much body heat.

What keeps you warm in the winter, keeps you cool in the summer. That’s what the old timers would say anyway. I mean think about it, don’t you always see the ancient photographs and they are always wearing long clothing and hats year round. They obviously knew something that we don’t.