You know the type—or maybe you are the type. The person bundled in layers while everyone else looks comfortable, the one always asking to adjust the thermostat, the notorious office sweater collector. For years, “always cold” people have endured eye rolls and dismissive comments suggesting they’re just being dramatic. But science is finally validating what cold-prone individuals have known all along: some bodies genuinely experience and react to temperature differently than others.
The metabolic mystery
At the core of your personal temperature experience is your metabolic rate—essentially how quickly your body converts food into energy. This internal furnace varies dramatically between individuals, with some people naturally burning fuel at a higher rate than others, generating more body heat in the process.
Your basal metabolic rate is influenced by numerous factors including genetics, age, hormones, and muscle mass. People with naturally higher metabolisms typically run warmer, while those with slower metabolic rates generate less heat and consequently feel colder in environments others find comfortable.
This metabolic variation helps explain why that friend who seems to eat everything in sight without gaining weight is also the one who’s rarely reaching for an extra layer—their body is literally burning through calories faster, producing more heat as a byproduct. Meanwhile, people with naturally conservative metabolisms might preserve calories better but generate less warming heat.
The body composition factor
Fat and muscle affect your thermal experience in surprisingly different ways. Muscle tissue generates heat, functioning as your body’s internal radiator. The more muscle mass you have, the more heat your body produces even at rest. This explains why individuals with less muscle mass—often including women and older adults—frequently feel colder than their more muscular counterparts.
Body fat, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t generate heat but acts as insulation. Having adequate fat provides a thermal barrier that helps retain the heat your muscles produce. However, the distribution matters tremendously. Subcutaneous fat (just under the skin) provides better insulation than visceral fat (around organs), which explains why some people with higher body fat percentages still feel perpetually cold—their fat distribution might not optimize heat retention.
This complex relationship between muscle, fat, and temperature sensation helps explain why two people of identical weight but different body compositions can have dramatically different thermal experiences in the same environment.
The circulatory connection
Your personal temperature experience depends heavily on how efficiently your circulatory system delivers warm blood to your extremities. Some people naturally have better peripheral circulation than others, maintaining warmer hands and feet even in cool environments.
Raynaud’s phenomenon represents the extreme end of this spectrum—a condition where blood vessels in the extremities narrow excessively in response to cold or stress, causing hands and feet to become painfully cold and sometimes change color. While diagnosed Raynaud’s affects a relatively small percentage of people, many “always cold” individuals have milder forms of similar circulatory inefficiency.
These circulation differences are often partly genetic but can be influenced by factors like smoking, caffeine consumption, and certain medications. Circulation-related coldness typically manifests most noticeably in the hands, feet, ears, and nose—the body areas furthest from your core and most vulnerable to reduced blood flow.
The hormonal influence
Hormones play a major role in regulating body temperature, which helps explain why women often feel colder than men. Estrogen affects how blood vessels dilate and constrict, influencing how effectively blood circulates to the extremities. Progesterone, meanwhile, can slightly raise core body temperature but doesn’t necessarily improve perception of warmth in the extremities.
Thyroid hormones dramatically impact metabolic rate and heat production. Even mild hypothyroidism can cause increased cold sensitivity, making previously comfortable temperatures feel suddenly chilly. This hormonal effect explains why many people, particularly women, develop new cold sensitivity during certain life phases when hormones fluctuate significantly.
Stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol also affect temperature perception by influencing blood vessel constriction and dilation. People with chronically elevated stress levels often report feeling colder, particularly in their extremities, due to the blood-vessel-narrowing effects of these hormones.
The adaptation aspect
Your thermal comfort zone is remarkably adaptable based on your typical environment. People who live in consistently warm climates often find temperatures uncomfortable that those from cooler regions consider perfectly pleasant. This acclimatization happens on both physiological and psychological levels.
When consistently exposed to cooler temperatures, your body gradually adjusts by improving circulation to extremities and optimizing heat retention mechanisms. However, this adaptation requires regular exposure—which explains why someone who always cranks up the heat will continue feeling cold in temperatures others find comfortable.
This adaptation factor helps explain geographical and seasonal differences in temperature perception. Someone from Miami visiting Chicago in winter isn’t just being dramatic about the cold—their body literally hasn’t developed the same adaptive responses as locals who’ve gradually adjusted to seasonal temperature shifts.
The genetic component
Your personal temperature thermostat has a strong hereditary component. Specific genes influence aspects of metabolism, circulation, and temperature regulation, creating family patterns of cold sensitivity that transcend environmental factors.
Researchers have identified several genes that affect thermoreception—how your body senses and responds to temperature changes. Variations in these genes can make some people’s thermal receptors more sensitive, causing them to perceive cold more intensely than others in identical environments.
This genetic basis means that if your parents were always reaching for sweaters while everyone else seemed comfortable, there’s a good chance you’ve inherited similar thermal tendencies. Your DNA influences not just how your body regulates temperature but how your brain interprets temperature signals.
The iron equation
Iron deficiency represents one of the most common and easily addressed causes of feeling perpetually cold. Without adequate iron, your body can’t produce enough hemoglobin to carry oxygen efficiently, resulting in reduced metabolic function and heat production.
What makes iron-related coldness particularly interesting is that it can develop gradually, causing someone who previously had normal temperature tolerance to suddenly become the person always asking to adjust the thermostat. Many people attribute this change to aging or weight fluctuations without recognizing the potential nutritional connection.
Women are particularly vulnerable to iron deficiency due to menstrual blood loss, pregnancy, and typically lower red meat consumption than men. This nutritional factor contributes significantly to the gender gap in temperature preferences observed in many households and workplaces.
The hydration connection
Your hydration status affects temperature regulation more than most people realize. Proper fluid levels help maintain optimal blood volume and pressure, supporting efficient circulation to your extremities. When you’re dehydrated, your body prioritizes delivering blood to essential organs over extremities, often leaving hands and feet feeling cold.
This hydration effect explains why some people notice they feel colder after consuming alcohol or excessive caffeine, both of which have diuretic effects that can reduce overall fluid balance. Maintaining adequate hydration can noticeably improve cold tolerance, particularly in your hands and feet.
The water-temperature connection works both ways—being cold can also mask dehydration by reducing thirst sensation and increasing urine production. This creates a potential vicious cycle where feeling cold leads to reduced fluid intake, which further impairs temperature regulation.
The psychological piece
While physical factors certainly dominate temperature perception, psychology influences the experience too. Anxiety and stress can amplify cold sensations through both physiological mechanisms (stress hormones constricting blood vessels) and attentional focus (becoming more aware of and bothered by cold sensations).
This psychological component explains why coldness often feels worse when you’re tired, hungry, or emotionally distressed. Your physical cold tolerance hasn’t actually changed, but your psychological resilience to discomfort has temporarily decreased, making the same temperature feel less tolerable.
Understanding this mind-body connection offers a valuable tool for cold-sensitive individuals. Relaxation techniques can sometimes improve subjective comfort in cool environments by reducing the stress response that constricts peripheral blood vessels and by shifting attention away from physical discomfort.
The practical approach
For chronically cold people, practical strategies matter more than explanations. Layering thin, insulating materials typically works better than single thick layers. Materials like merino wool, which insulates even when damp from sweat, outperform cotton for maintaining body heat.
Keeping your core warm often improves extremity temperature more effectively than focusing on hands and feet directly. When your core registers warmth, your body is more willing to circulate blood to extremities rather than conserving it centrally. This explains why warming your torso with a vest often helps cold hands more than gloves alone.
Regular physical activity remains one of the most effective long-term strategies for improving cold tolerance. Exercise increases muscle mass, boosts metabolic rate, improves circulation, and enhances your body’s overall temperature regulation capabilities. Even brief movement sessions can trigger lasting improvements in circulation and warmth.
Understanding why your body experiences temperature differently than others provides validation that you’re not imagining your discomfort. Your thermal experience reflects real physiological differences rather than just personal preference or psychological sensitivity. The next time someone suggests you’re being dramatic about the cold, you can confidently explain that your freezing hands are the result of genuine biological differences—not just in your head after all.
