What action can help maintain body heat in cold water?

Adopting the HELP (Heat Escape Lessening Posture) position is an effective action to help maintain body heat in cold water. This position involves bringing the knees up towards the chest and wrapping the arms around the legs, which minimizes the exposure of the body's surface area to the cold water. By reducing this surface area, the body loses heat more slowly, which is critical for prolonging survival in hypothermic conditions.

In cold water, maintaining warmth is essential because the body loses heat quickly; therefore, reducing the areas that are directly exposed to the water helps conserve body heat. The HELP position can be especially important when rescue is not immediately available, as it supports both heat retention and buoyancy.

Other options, such as keeping swimming, may seem intuitive for generating warmth but can actually lead to faster heat loss due to increased exposure and energy expenditure. Wearing multiple life jackets would not effectively contribute to heat conservation in cold water. Remaining still and relaxed is beneficial in certain circumstances but may not be as effective as the HELP position in explicitly minimizing heat loss through body position. Thus, the HELP position is the optimal choice for maintaining body heat in cold water situations.