Written By: Longjam Dineshwori | Updated : December 30, 2022 12:12 PM IST
Most people love winter more than summer because they like cold more than heat. But some people may not be happy with the plummeting temperatures of the winter season. This is because how we respond to the cold vary from person to person and some people can feel cold more than others in the same environment. Below we have provided some scientific reasons to why some people feel colder than others in the same environment.
Age
As we get older, cold sensitivity increases too. Older adults have a thinner fat layer under the skin, they are less physically active, their metabolic rate decreases, they are likely to have some medical conditions and might be taking certain medications. All these reasons and more make older people more susceptible to cold.
Gender
If you're a woman, you might be feeling colder than your husband in the same environment. This is probably because compared to men, women tend to have a lower metabolic rate, lower skin temperature (due to thicker layer of fat between the skin and the muscles), less muscle (a natural heat producer), as well as slightly higher core body temperatures.
Body Fat
Fat people or people with a higher BMI feel cold less than thin people because fat insulates their body's core against cold weather, while their skin cools down.
Genetic factor
Your genes may be making you more prone to feeling cold than others. One study suggested that people who are deficient in a muscle protein called alpha-actinin-3 are more resilient to cold temperatures. The researchers associated loss of this protein to a genetic variant in the skeletal muscle gene, ACTN3.
Cold contagion
Do you also feel cold when you see someone near you shivering in cold? This can happen due to a phenomenon called "cold contagion", and research has proven it. One study showed how some participants felt colder if they saw videos of actors pretending to be cold even though they were not in a cold environment.
Rare exposure to cold
People who have habituated themselves to feeling comfortably warm in their living and working spaces may also feel excessively cold when they are exposed to outer colder temperatures. People in the developed world are spending more time inside and they are rarely expose to cold.
Medical Issues
Certain medical issues can make some people susceptible to feel cold. For example, Raynaud's disease limits blood flow to some areas of the body. This can make affected areas such as fingers and toes feel numb and cold in response to cold temperatures. Thyroid problems, diabetes, and iron deficiency can make people feel excessively cold.
