The research is mixed on whether sex impacts how people experience temperature. While there’s a common belief that women generally feel colder than men, scientific evidence is inconclusive due to a lack of rigorously controlled studies. Current data suggests that temperature perception and regulation depend more on physical traits, such as body fat and surface area, rather than sex.
Some research supports the idea that women often feel colder, including studies on preferred thermostat settings in office environments. Additionally, women tend to have slightly higher core temperatures but colder hands, feet, and ears. This may be influenced by sex hormones: estrogen dilates blood vessels, allowing heat to escape, while progesterone constricts blood vessels, increasing core temperature but reducing blood flow to extremities.
However, recent studies indicate that body temperature regulation is influenced more by physical traits than sex. For example, a study published in PNAS by NIH scientists found no significant sex-based differences in temperature perception or response to cold. In the study, 12 women and 16 men stayed in a room where the temperature varied from 88°F (31°C) to 63°F (17°C). Both sexes perceived temperature changes similarly and shivered at the same threshold, around 68°F to 70°F (20°C to 21°C).
Measurements showed similar skin temperatures between sexes, though women had slightly warmer skin on average. While women maintained slightly higher core temperatures at cold temperatures, likely due to higher body fat percentages, other physiological responses were similar. Women’s basal metabolic rates were slightly lower than men’s.
The results suggest that men and women react to temperature changes in similar ways, with individual differences in body composition playing a more significant role than sex. Taller women with less body fat might have a warmer lower-critical temperature than smaller men with more body fat, indicating that body surface area and fat percentage, rather than sex, are key factors in temperature regulation.
In conclusion, the study challenges the notion that women always feel colder than men, suggesting that individual body traits are more influential in temperature perception.
