Where one person happily continues to wear shorts until early November, the other prefers to take their duvet outside as soon as the first hint of autumn wind appears. Our internal thermostat varies greatly from person to person, that much is clear. But how exactly does that happen?
There is certainly no right or wrong, whether you sit behind your laptop every day with frozen fingers or quickly shed your wool sweater due to the heat. Everyone is simply different in their heat and cold regulation. That being said, we are sometimes curious about the causes of these differences.
Hormones are the key to sense of cold
First and foremost, hormones play a significant role. Research has shown that women do indeed feel colder more quickly than men due to differences in hormonal balance. This is partly because the male hormone testosterone has an inhibitory effect on the system that senses cold. In women, on the other hand, the hormone oestrogen thickens the blood, making it less likely to flow easily to the extremities. Therefore, their limbs get colder more quickly.
“People with a bit more fat on their bodies have an advantage,” says general practitioner Johannes Uys to the website Salon. A thicker layer of fat helps to better retain body heat. Even muscular people are less likely to feel cold: “Muscles generate heat when they contract.” Our metabolism also influences cold perception, Uys continues: “People with a faster metabolism generally generate more heat, making them less sensitive to the cold.” But he adds: “That being said, our metabolism tends to slow down as we age, so it can also depend on our age and genetics.”
What also plays a role in the perception of warmth and cold is that we are all culturally conditioned in different ways.