If you find yourself regularly shivering while your male companion is toasty warm, you’re not alone. It’s actually pretty common for women to feel cold when men aren’t, but why is that? According to one doctor on TikTok, there are scientific reasons why women tend to be colder than men.
In response to a video from a couple who says they can’t shower together because of their difference in preferred temperature, Dr. Karan Rajan explains why on average, women may feel colder than men. He begins by saying women “have a fractionally higher core body temperature than men,” which may seem like it would keep them warmer. But he continues, “Alas, if someone is used to being warm, then somewhere cold can feel even colder.” And if someone is taking hormonal birth control, that cold sensitivity may increase.
- Dr. Rajan notes that women may also have colder extremities than men, including hands, feet and earlobes, which may be three degrees lower in women than men. And again, that could be because of hormones. He says estrogen thickens the blood and reduces blood flow to the capillaries, which supply it to the extremities.
- Ovulation may also be a peak time for cold sensitivity because of high estrogen levels.
- And another reason women may feel cold more than men is because on average, women have a lower metabolic rate than men. Rajan says, “This means women produce less heat.”
Source: NY Post