Women feel the cold more than men. Here's why
Summer is women’s winter.
Why do we say this? Because come summer, the temperature of indoor places from offices, restaurants to homes, are controlled by a thermostat or an AC. However, the controlled temperature feels different for different people; the difference is especially stark between men and women.
How many women feel like they’ve stepped into Himachal Pradesh or Switzerland when they enter offices, despite the temperatures outside feeling like boiling water? A lot of us do. In fact, women in this office carry a stole or a shawl at 40 degrees Celsius something summer because of the cold inside.
But the men in the office fight over lowering the indoor temperature, almost sweating in the process. And in winter months, a man’s hand is always toasty warm compared to the hands or feet of women, which feel ice cold.
The difference isn’t all that vague or a figment of imagination. In fact, there are studies that show women do feel the cold more compared to men.
Why is it the case?
- At the same body weight, women have less muscle than men to generate heat.
- Women have more fat between skin and muscles, keeping the skin away from warm blood vessels. This results in more of us feeling the chill.
- The lower metabolic rate among women than men also results in less heat production when exposed to cold.
- The hormone estrogen is found largely in women that contribute to the core body temperature and skin temperature.
- Hormones make sure that women’s hands, feet and ears stay 3 degrees Celsius cooler than men. They are also the reason why women feel warmer than usual during ovulation.
So in case, someone says how women feel the cold more than men, the above points are perfect reasons to give.
Besides, it’s not just humans that feel gender temperature differences, even female birds and mammals seem to prefer warmer temperatures.