I live in the suburbs of NYC. Every winter the cold makes me completely miserable. I’m not happy unless I’m bundled up in several layers even when inside.
OTOH my husband has no trouble with the cold. He doesn’t wear a hat unless the windchill’s in the minus territory and he walks around our house with a bare minimum of clothing.
In the summer the situation is reversed. I’m fine when the temp starts to climb and he retreats to air conditioned rooms.
So far our daughter seems to take after him. She’s perfectly happy to march around the house in December with only a diaper. Even when we’re outside during the winter she pulls off her hat and scarf.
Are some people simply more physiologically tolerant of cold weather than others?
I like cold weather and am miserable in the summer. I’m of Irish descent so I doubt it’s anything genetic, it’s just because I was born fat. Even as an infant I’d kick off my covers in my crib in the dead of winter.
I daresay most fat people just don’t feel the cold like their skinny brethren. If your husband and daughter are plump (even babies can have a lot of fat on them without being overweight or appearing fat), that might be your answer.
Now that you mention it, though, all of my black friends (regardless of weight) HATE, I mean loathe, the winter. The hotter it is the happier they are.
A) Every single person on the planet experiences heat and col in exactly the same way regardless of factors such as genetics or body fat, and in spite of the fact that almost every other trait found in the human species is somewhat variable.
or
B) Some people are more tolerant of cold weather. There are some things going for this theory. First, it is obviously true. Second, you have direct evidence of it which you provided in your post.
Like Greenback, I don’t think it’s necessarily a fat/thin thing. I’m quite skinny and I don’t feel the cold too badly. I love cold frosty weather, and snow. On the other hand, I love hot sun too. What I hate is middling, boring weather with the temperature in the low 60s. Give me heat, or give me cold!
I am definitely more tolerant of cold than heat. I much prefer winter temps to Chicago 90+ temperature and humidity.
I do notice that my tolerance of cold is, to me at least, largely a state of mind. If I am especially tired I find my ability to tolerate cold temperatures very diminished. Most times however I notice it is cold and mostly ignore it and get on just fine.
Despite the fact that if you were to clothe me in a halberk and furs I would not look out of place on a viking longship, I loathe cold weather. I think this is due to acclimation – I’m a heat-loving denizen of the southern hemisphere, and I’m more used to 80+ temps. Hell, it’s dead of winter in MS and oh, 50 degrees outside?
Most of the Southerners I know, regardless of race, prefer the heat. Not just tolerates, but actively prefers. When we were working Red Cross DR in Florida, my Midwestern co-workers just about melted in the 95-100 degree weather, and I thought it was grand.
I was born in South Dakota and hate the winter. My wife hates the hot climates. We now live in a moderate climate in Bogotá, Colombia… No snow nor heat. We are both happy here.
Heh. Your smart alec but spot on answer made me laugh.
It did also ignore one thing. Some people like the cold so they can brag about how well they tolerate it whether they tolerate it well or not. I bike to work year round. Coldest I have done this is minus 30F (wind chill included.) I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I get a real kick out of people’s responses when I come in to the office. Standing there shivering while bragging about my manliness/insanity of biking in the winter would really ruin the whole image.
Fairly hefty male here, northern European ancestry. I love the cold, and start sweating at temperatures above 70. Above 75 or so I’m miserable. Playing in the snow in 20 degree weather while wearing short sleeves is fun. Living in Houston, this means I’m permanently indoors for much of the year, and my electric bills are through the roof. I can’t wait until I’m able to move to Moscow or Fargo or some place like that. Yes, some of us just don’t feel cold like others do.
I had a severe brain injury about 10 years ago and if I feel cold now, it is dangerously cold. Don’t know if there is any link and I’m not sure if I was always not sensitive to cold. It’s something my family has pointed out.
I hadn’t seen that column by Cecil, that was fascinating! I’m always amazed at the design of the human body- so intricate and so complete. Praise Biology!
I just wanted to point out that one can become acclimated. I grew up in Michigan, and I don’t remember it being intolerably cold. I was used to it. I’ve now lived in Arizona for 8 years, and I’ve noticed that with each passing summer, the winters feel colder. This winter, it’s gotten to where I have to wear a jacket if it’s below 72 or so.
I’m actually pretty intolerant to extreme heat AND extreme cold. One summer the office I worked in had an A/C breakdown for a few days, and I literally could NOT work. My face would turn red and I would almost pass out due to the heat in that office, and I was the only one affected so.
You were the only one affected? Did you complain? I’ll bet you did. You strike me as the kind of person who takes a situation where there is no trouble and creates some trouble out of it. Only with creative spelling.
Haha.
Other people were affected, but they tolerated it, whereas I could clearly not.
And no I didn’t complain. At work I try to be tough and stick things out, because that kind of thing looks good on my reviews. My condition was clearly visible, and I got sent home. Works for me!
About 15 or 20 years ago on a bitter cold winter morning when the temp was about 20 degrees below zero, I went out side to shove, wearing a heavy snowmobile suit. Down the street was a man who I guess was in his 30s at that time was out before me and was also shoveling the snow. Believe it or not, he was only wearing a t-shirt! About 40 minutes later I went inside and he was still out there shoveling. He would walk to the store about 5 blocks away and walk home carring a bag of groceries wearing just a t-shirt. I fould out later that he had a bad accident some years ago but if that had anything to do with it, I don’t know. I was told that he didn’t own a winter coat because he didn’t need one. I see him once in awhile now but he does wear a coat. You would think that at that temp even if he did not feel the cold, that his skin would get frost bite on his skin.
People are forever saying to me, “Don’t you need to be wearing more winter clothes? Aren’t you cold?” I think it’s because I used to live in Winnipeg – who knows? – but I don’t feel the chill like other people. I mean, I’m not walking around below zero with no coat, exactly, but I don’t seem to get as bundled up in spring or autumn as others.
