Why are Women Always Cold?

[#98QBKiller]

I'll be the first to admit that I'm very warm natured and can keep my house pretty cool. But yesterday, my girlfriend and I woke up and she got pissed and started nagging me before I even got out of bed about how cool it was in our place.

She got up, went out to the living room and turned the heat way up. She left for work before me and I decided to not touch the thermostat to show her how hot the place gets when you blast the heat all day.

Well I get home and it's damn near 85 degrees in the house and she hasn't bothered to touch the thermostat. She's wearing jeans and a long-sleeved shirt and sitting on the couch watching tv like everything's fine, while I immediately begin to sweat like a pig and get hot flashes.

We got that resolved and found a pretty comfortable temp to compromise with. But I've noticed the women at my work are wearing long sleeves, jackets and scarfs and complaining about how cold it is in the office while most of the guys take off their jackets when they get in and just sit in short sleeves and are fine all day.

Even when some of us guys in the office think it's too hot, the women are still wearing jackets and complaining about the cold.

So why are women always cold?

[Romo the Great]

Maybe because their skin is soft and tender and they need to protect it?

My skin is soft and tender and I am a guy, but I usually wear a jacket even indoors just to protect the smoothness of it.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Because they need a real man to warm them up?

[China]

Hmm...let me make up some pseudoscientific explanation:

Historically women were naturally designed with more fat (hips, breasts, etc.) which provides them with a layer of insulation (blubber, if you will). Accordingly, their metabolism burned slower as it didn't need to work as hard to keep the body temperature up. As modern women no longer sport the Reubenesque physique, there isn't as much fat to keep them warm, and the body's metabolism hasn't adjusted to heat them up. Thus they are always cold.

[Zguy28]

Flannel sheets on the bed helps.

[#98QBKiller]

Because they need a real man to warm them up?

Glad to see you came back out of the closet with your Obama support....I know you were secretly thinking of voting for Mitt Romney.

[rincewind]

Not enough internal whisky.

[Pookie]

W/ some of us it's a circulation thing...esp. our feet. I'm always cold too--and I live in Miami (our "winters" are max. 32F @ night, for about a max of 2 or 3 nights in late Jan.). Right now our days are 82F, and our low at night is 71F. Thank God for the Mr. I can snuggle up to or I'd freeze.

[Heavens Safety 21]

Good question. I always seem to be colder than any male I am around. Especially at work. I have three male boss' and they keep the temperature freezing. I have a heater next to me right now. I feel as if my body type is more to love and I still am cold everyday...

[headexplode]

It's because they don't have souls.

[gbear]

Being a naturally hairy man, I say it's because they lack my fur coat ,and thus they lack all of my superpowers, the first of which is to ignore that silly thing some refer to as "cold."

[Tulane Skins Fan]

Actually, I know this one:

GENERALLY SPEAKING, a woman's circulation is worse than a man. This is because women tend to have less muscle than men, and muscles are what drive the circulatory system.

In addition to this, nerves and blood vessels travel through the body in a "bunch." As in, the nerves and the main arteries or veins are next to each other. So, if you are able to get warm blood through your body quicker, you tend to be warmer because the blood is circulating faster and staying warmer throughout your entire body.

If you have poorer circulation - which most women have due to the less amount of muscle they have powering their circulatory system - then you tend to be colder.

[#98QBKiller]

W/ some of us it's a circulation thing...esp. our feet. I'm always cold too--and I live in Miami (our "winters" are max. 32F @ night, for about a max of 2 or 3 nights in late Jan.). Right now our days are 82F, and our low at night is 71F. Thank God for the Mr. I can snuggle up to or I'd freeze.

Holy hell yes. My girlfriends hands and feet are FREEZING at night. She wants to put her feet on my legs at night to warm them up but it's like someone holding an ice tray against your leg, impossible to sleep.

[PokerPacker]

because they're hell spawns and aren't used to the relatively frigid temperatures of the surface?

[dwbiggs]

Women have a higher ratio of surface to volume than men and thus shed heat faster. The reasoning here is that heat generation is determined by volume (radius cubed), while heat dissipation is determined by skin surface area (radius squared). The smaller your size, the lower your heat generation/heat dissipation ratio, and the colder you are. Probably part of the answer--see below.

Men have more heat-generating muscle mass. Muscles are well supplied with blood vessels. The more muscle, the more blood flow and the more warmth.

Women have a higher vasoconstriction threshold temperature. Vasoconstriction is the process by which, as the external temperature falls, blood flow to the skin is restricted in order to divert blood to internal organs, thus maintaining core temperature. The theory: as ambient temp falls, women shut off blood flow to the skin sooner in order to provide more warmth to their unborn babies, so they feel colder. Interesting idea but as yet unproven--though women do seem to have lower skin temperature when exposed to cold.

Women get colder during menstruation. Supposedly this is due to anemia, hormonal changes, etc. However, most studies haven't shown much difference between menstruating and nonmenstruating women in terms of heat response. As you say, female aversion to cold doesn't seem to be confined to a particular time of the month.

From Straight Dope

[frommd]

Hmmmmm. What else is cold and needs external warmth?

P.S. Please don't tell my wife I said that.

[Thanos]

Actually, I know this one:

GENERALLY SPEAKING, a woman's circulation is worse than a man. This is because women tend to have less muscle than men, and muscles are what drive the circulatory system.

In addition to this, nerves and blood vessels travel through the body in a "bunch." As in, the nerves and the main arteries or veins are next to each other. So, if you are able to get warm blood through your body quicker, you tend to be warmer because the blood is circulating faster and staying warmer throughout your entire body.

If you have poorer circulation - which most women have due to the less amount of muscle they have powering their circulatory system - then you tend to be colder.

I like this definition best.:notworthy

[The_cavalierman]

It's because they don't have souls.

I'll go with this one for $500 Alex

[CrazyZeb]

Maybe because their skin is soft and tender and they need to protect it?

My skin is soft and tender and I am a guy, but I usually wear a jacket even indoors just to protect the smoothness of it.

Say what? :laugh:

[#98QBKiller]

Women have a higher ratio of surface to volume than men and thus shed heat faster. The reasoning here is that heat generation is determined by volume (radius cubed), while heat dissipation is determined by skin surface area (radius squared). The smaller your size, the lower your heat generation/heat dissipation ratio, and the colder you are. Probably part of the answer--see below.

Men have more heat-generating muscle mass. Muscles are well supplied with blood vessels. The more muscle, the more blood flow and the more warmth.

Women have a higher vasoconstriction threshold temperature. Vasoconstriction is the process by which, as the external temperature falls, blood flow to the skin is restricted in order to divert blood to internal organs, thus maintaining core temperature. The theory: as ambient temp falls, women shut off blood flow to the skin sooner in order to provide more warmth to their unborn babies, so they feel colder. Interesting idea but as yet unproven--though women do seem to have lower skin temperature when exposed to cold.

Women get colder during menstruation. Supposedly this is due to anemia, hormonal changes, etc. However, most studies haven't shown much difference between menstruating and nonmenstruating women in terms of heat response. As you say, female aversion to cold doesn't seem to be confined to a particular time of the month.

From Straight Dope

Actually, I know this one:

GENERALLY SPEAKING, a woman's circulation is worse than a man. This is because women tend to have less muscle than men, and muscles are what drive the circulatory system.

In addition to this, nerves and blood vessels travel through the body in a "bunch." As in, the nerves and the main arteries or veins are next to each other. So, if you are able to get warm blood through your body quicker, you tend to be warmer because the blood is circulating faster and staying warmer throughout your entire body.

If you have poorer circulation - which most women have due to the less amount of muscle they have powering their circulatory system - then you tend to be colder.

Actually guys, I was looking for something more scientific like headexplode's response.

[zoony]

You just need to work her harder. I would double or triple her chore list.

[KDawg]

Say what? :laugh:

I thought I was the only one who noticed that...

:laugh:

[zoony]

Say what? :laugh:

Cowboy fan, whadya expect

[tomgraham]

not as much fat?

[DCsportsfan53]

Hmm...let me make up some pseudoscientific explanation:

Historically women were naturally designed with more fat (hips, breasts, etc.) which provides them with a layer of insulation (blubber, if you will). Accordingly, their metabolism burned slower as it didn't need to work as hard to keep the body temperature up. As modern women no longer sport the Reubenesque physique, there isn't as much fat to keep them warm, and the body's metabolism hasn't adjusted to heat them up. Thus they are always cold.

Except that, instead of being smaller, I think many women today, if anything, have gone past Reubenesque.

I'll quickly step away from all the astounding scientific responses in the thread so far ( :laugh: ) and break it down real simply for you all. It psychological, I'm convinced. Maybe it has something to do with cultural programming and it's an easy way for women to express a certain level of vulnerability. Who knows, but biologically speaking, the exact opposite should be true, they should be better equipped for the cold.