... and why women really DO feel the cold more than men
Even the happiest couples start to argue at this time of year — over the thermostat. One in three row over how hot their home should be, according to a new survey from Corgi Home Plan — with 40 per cent of women turning the heat up behind their partner’s back.
But science shows women really do feel the cold more than men. And that’s not the only fascinating fact about body temperature...
SOME LIKE IT HOTTER
TemPerATure is a balancing act — and how hot or cold we feel involves close interaction between brain and body.
‘The brain constantly monitors temperature signals from the skin and internal organs, and if these deviate from your thermoneutral zone — the temperature where you simply feel comfortable — it will react to rebalance things,’ says Dr Steve Faulkner, a physiologist at nottingham Trent university.
If you’re cold, muscle contractions begin in order to generate heat, causing us to shiver, which warms us up. Blood is also diverted away from the skin and closer to the internal organs.
The opposite happens if you’re too hot — here, blood flow will divert from the internal organs to the skin so heat can evaporate. You may also start to sweat to cool things down.
Women prefer a temperature 3c higher than men. A 2015 study from maastricht university found that while men prefer a temperature of 22c (71.6f), women thrive at 25c (77f).
‘When core body temperature drops, the body shuts down blood flow to the extremities to protect internal organs,’ says mike Tipton, a professor of human and applied physiology at the university of Portsmouth. ‘This makes your hands and feet cold — and this response happens at a lower temperature in women than men.’
One reason for the extra sensitivity might be to protect any pregnancies. men also tend to have more muscle mass and the movement of muscles creates heat. This allows men to generate an estimated 35 per cent more heat than women do.
WHY A FEVER IS A GOOD SIGN
A HIgH temperature fights infection. ‘When an infection establishes itself, the body releases inflammatory agents to fight it,’ says Dr ricardo Di Cuffa, a gP and founder of your-doctor.co.uk.
‘One of these, Interleukin-1, raises temperature and it’s believed this response stimulates immunity and reduces the replication of infectious agents.’
A study in 2011, reported in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, also found higher numbers of T- cells that destroy viruses are produced in the body when temperature rises. Because a higher temperature serves a healing purpose, there’s a school of thought that lowering temperatures when you’re sick — by taking painkillers or medication — may prolong illness.
‘ I would still encourage patients to take medications that improve symptoms, as this helps state of mind, aids sleep and makes you more likely to move around, drink and eat properly, all of which fuel immunity,’ says Dr Di Cuffa.
A higher temperature makes you shiver because your brain alters your temperature set point when you’re ill to be slightly higher than normal. Your body feels cold and thinks it needs to generate heat to warm you up — and it contracts the muscles to do that.
LIES GET US HOT AND BOTHERED
YOur temperature goes up when you tell a lie. Specifically, you develop a noticeably warmer area around your nose and inner corner of the eye, found researchers conducting a study using thermography ( thermal imaging) at the university of granada in 2012.
The response happens because when we lie, a part of the brain called the insula, associated with self-awareness, is activated — and this also plays a role in controlling body temperature.
WE GET COLDER AS WE AGE
TemPerATure falls with age. The accepted average body temperature is 37c (98.6f) but older people are likely to be colder. One u.S. study revealed only 10 per cent of 150 older people (average age 81) had a ‘normal’ body temperature — the other 90 per cent were lower.
This has led some experts to suggest the normal idea of a high temperature being above 37.8c (100f) might need to be lowered in older people.
This doesn’t mean they feel colder, just that their temperature may be deceptive when measured, so symptoms such as confusion, rapid pulse and low blood pressure should also be used to spot fever.
nonetheless, slowing circulation and slowed body reactions, such as the dilation of blood vessels, do alter how older bodies respond to drops in temperature — and so older people will often feel colder.
meanwhile, there are health conditions that might alter the body’s thermostat and lead to people feeling cold. These include hypothyroidism — where thyroid function slows down — and hyperthyroidism — where it speeds up — which can lead to a rise in temperature and excessive sweating. Diabetes can also lead to people feeling cold more often.
FREEZING? IT’S IN THE GENES
HOW hot or cold you feel is partly genetic. A 2012 study of 894 twins found a clear correlation between how cold the hands and feet of each pair felt — leading the researchers to suggest that temperature response is partly inherited.
‘Where your ancestors came from plays a role in temperature perception, as it changes your body size,’ says Professor Tipton. ‘Those with forefathers from hot climates tend to be taller, thinner and with longer limbs to maximise the surface area for heat to evaporate.’
FEELING CHILLY IS CATCHING
FeeLIng cold is contagious. When researchers at the university of Surrey showed volunteers pictures of people holding their hand in ice water, the viewers also started to feel cold.
‘This is likely to be a perception effect,’ says Dr Faulkner.
‘Seeing someone feeling cold brings your attention to awareness of your own body temperature.’ Sadly, the study revealed warmth isn’t as catching.
That said, having company may help you feel warm. In a control group, half were asked to recall a time when they felt lonely. They estimated the temperature to be 2.5c cooler than the others, a 2008 study by the university of Toronto found.
researchers said this may be linked to our experience as babies. Being held by a parent or carer is linked with warmth.