How to keep your hands warm at your desk

Cold hands at a desk usually come from three things together: a cool room, sitting still for a long time, and a desk surface that pulls heat out of your wrists. The quickest fixes are to keep your core and wrists warm, move a little every half hour, and keep a small heat source within reach so you can warm your fingers between bursts of typing. Here is how we set that up at home.

Why your hands get cold first when you sit still

When you sit for an hour, you hardly move your hands except for small finger movements. Your hands also have a lot of surface and very little bulk, so they cool down quickly in a room that feels fine to the rest of you. A desk by a window, a draft from under the door, or a metal or glass desktop makes it worse.

So it's rarely about one big fix. It's a few small changes that add up.

Warm the room you sit in, not the whole flat

You don't have to turn up every radiator.

• Move the desk away from the window if you can, even a little. Glass is the coldest surface in most rooms.
• Block the draft. A rolled towel along the bottom of the door does more than you'd think.
• Put something soft under your wrists. A folded scarf or a fabric wrist rest feels warmer than a bare desk. Glass and metal desktops feel coldest.

Dress for typing

Thick gloves and keyboards don't go together. What works better:

• Keep your core warm. A warm jumper or a vest helps, because cold hands often start with a cold body.
• Cover your wrists. Long sleeves that reach your wrists, or wrist warmers, keep the skin on the inside of your wrist covered while your fingers stay free.
• Fingerless gloves are the classic for a reason. Thin ones still let you type normally.
• Warm feet help too. If your feet are cold, the rest of you feels it.

Keep a small heat source within reach

Layers keep heat in. Sometimes you also want to add some, especially first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon when the room has cooled.

A mug of something warm is the simplest option, and holding it for a minute between emails works. The downside is that it goes cold, and you probably don't want a fifth coffee.

A rechargeable pocket hand warmer is the other option. Our Rechargeable Hand Warmer sits next to the keyboard, and you pick it up when your fingers stiffen. It has a built-in lithium battery and a digital display, and it is small enough for a coat pocket on the walk home.

A few habits that make a hand warmer more useful at a desk:

1. Keep it charged so it is ready when you come in from outside.
2. Hold it between both palms for a minute rather than keeping it in one hand while you type.
3. Charge it at the end of the day, so it's ready in the morning when the room is coldest.

Don't forget your feet

It sounds odd in an article about hands, but cold feet make the whole body feel colder. If the floor under your desk is cold, a plush USB foot warmer is worth a look.

The USB Plush Foot Warmer is a plush pouch you slide both feet into. It runs on USB from an adapter, power bank or laptop port. It has no timer or heat levels: plug it in to warm and unplug it when you leave the desk. The cover zips off for washing once the heating part is out. It warms your feet, not the room.

We wrote more about the feet-and-lamp side of a cold evening in A warmer evening in a small flat.

Move a little, often

The free fix: every 30 minutes or so, stand up, roll your shoulders, shake out your hands, and make a fist and open it ten times. Walk to the kitchen and back. It takes a minute, and you come back to the keyboard less stiff.

When cold hands are more than a cold room

If your fingers often turn white or blue, go numb, or hurt in the cold, mention it to a doctor. Gadgets and jumpers are for comfort in a chilly room. They aren't a treatment.

A simple cold-desk routine

• Morning: charge done, hand warmer charged and next to the keyboard, foot warmer plugged in.
• Sleeves to the wrists, fingerless gloves if the room is chilly.
• Every half hour: stand, stretch, warm your hands for a minute.
• Evening: put the warmer on charge and unplug the foot warmer.

Frequently asked questions

Can I type while holding a hand warmer? Not easily. It works best as something you pick up between bursts of typing. Keep it next to the keyboard and hold it in both palms for a minute when your fingers feel stiff.

Will a hand warmer replace turning the heating up? No. It warms your hands, not the room. Combine it with layers, a draft blocker and warm feet.

How long does delivery take, and can I return it? Shipping is free to Denmark and 23 EU countries and usually takes about 8–18 business days after dispatch. Customs fees may apply in some countries. You have 14 days to withdraw from the purchase under EU rules (you pay return postage), plus the 2-year legal guarantee (EU/Danish consumer law).