Ever Wondered Why Women Are Always Colder Than Men? What the Science Says

Ladies, it's not just you; Women ARE naturally colder than men, and there are very specific reasons why.

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Core body temperatures

A study done by the University of Maryland School of Medicine found that while both men and women’s core temperatures fluctuated throughout the day, women’s core temperatures were consistently higher. You would think that would mean women are warmer, but it actually means they are more sensitive to colder temperatures since they are used to being warm. Try these foods that boost your body heat.

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Colder extremities

You might often see women rubbing their hands together to warm up. That’s because, on average, women’s hands and feet tend to be three degrees colder than men’s. The reason this happens is because women are actually better at conserving heat than men. Their bodies pull the heat back to their organs to conserve warmth when it is cold.

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Metabolism

Men’s metabolisms, on average, run 23 percent higher than women’s. The speed of your metabolism is how quickly your body burns food to give you the fuel it needs. This process causes the body to heat up. Since men’s metabolisms run at a higher rate, their bodies are warmer because they are burning more calories. Women’s metabolisms run slower, therefore burning calories at a slower speed and not warming their bodies up as much. Try these easy tips to jump start your metabolism.

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Buildings are set to cooler temperatures

According to research published in the journal Nature, most office building set their temperatures according to a formula developed in the 1960s. That formula takes into account the metabolic rates of men, since many women weren’t in the workforce in the 60s, and sets the temperature accordingly. It also doesn’t help that work attire for men tends to be suits while women wear dresses and thin blouses.

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Different hormone levels

Women’s body temperatures tend to fluctuate throughout menstruation because of the change in hormone levels. The temperature change is even more drastic for women who are on hormonal birth control. Therefore, depending on where they are in their cycle, women could be more sensitive to cold temperatures than normal.

Sources: thelist.com, glamour.com

Morgan Cutolo
Morgan is the Assistant Digital Managing Editor at Reader’s Digest. She graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2016 with a B.A. in Journalism. When she’s not writing for RD.com or keeping the 650+ pieces of content our team produces every month organized, she likes watching HGTV, going on Target runs, and searching through Instagram to find new corgi accounts to follow.