The other day it was -1ºF (-18ºC) and I had to go to the store. It was about 6 blocks which is a bit more than half a mile.
I left my house and froze, I was so cold and I was shivering and felt horrible. (Yes, I was bundled up good). I made it into the store and shopped about 15 or 20 minutes, then walked back home. But I felt different, I wasn’t shivering and all cold. Yes, I could feel the cold but it wasn’t physically effecting me as such.
Now assuming there is a bit of psychological stuff, such as the shock of physically going out into the cold for the first time of day. What happens to your body when it acclimates to the cold.
I recall similar effects (long term) when I moved to Florida from Chicago. I was running around in shorts when it was 50ºF (10ºC) a couple years later when I left it was 65ºF (18ºC) and I had on long pants and a sweater.
Or when I lived in Florida, I didn’t have an air conditioner and it bugged me but after a month, I got used to it.
So what kind of things happen to you to acclimate you to different temps?
I want to throw this out there since nobody has answered the question yet (and I’m also curious about the physical processes of this) but if we look at other things thats not weather related, we can see that the answer is nothing. Habituation happens constantly with things like sounds, smells, or pressure sensations. Absolutely nothing happens except that your brain gets bored of the stimulus and ceases to draw your attention to it.
Cite? I would have expected that habituation also happens in the nerves at the site of contact—e.g. in the skin where the pressure is being applied. What’s your basis for saying that it happens entirely in the brain?
I live where winter temperatures routinely hover in the -5 C region (you do the F math), plus considerable wind chill. In my twenties I experimented with “tempering” my body by going out in jeans and T-shirts well into winter, or up to -10 C temps. The gradual exposure to cooling autumn weather made going out in freezing weather - arms, neck and head bare - easy (I was 145lbs. with 10% body fat). Can’t tell you what happens here (a lot of it is psychological), but acclimating to quite cold temperatures is feasible, as long as you can take the “are you going to Siberia?” comments and weird looks. As an aside, I didn’t have a single flu in six years during my experiments.
I recall reading that in the case of high heat or cold the body produces special proteins that reduce the effects. I also recall reading that this can cause a loss of mental acuity in extreme cases as resources are diverted from producing proteins for the brain; I read a quote from an Antarctic researcher ( roughly, from memory ) that went something like “You know about how some days you just can’t get it together ? Well, down here every day is that day.” In the case of heat, the body produces more “heat shock proteins”
Sorry, I have no cite so please do take it with a grain of salt. It was something I remember studying years ago that pertained to the issue at hand. While I’m fairly certain that it’s only a brain thing since there would be no skin contact with regards to habituation with sounds and smells, I cannot be certain
I’m going to say that the walk to the store did more for you than any acclimatization.
You brought your pulse rate up, dilated arteries to your muscles, and increased your blood pressure. You were miserable on your walk to the store, because these changes were only just started. After the walk there, your muscles were warmed up, and once inside the store, you breathed in warm air, which helped your lungs. You walked around in the store (probably without taking your coat off) and your increased metabolism warmed you up enough that going back outside wasn’t horrible.
In my experience, it only takes about two or three blocks to start feeling warm (moving briskly, of course), so I’m not sure why it didn’t kick in during the six blocks. Could be different strokes for different folks - I don’t feel the cold like other people, so two blocks could just be my warm-up time (I’m never shivering and miserable outside, no matter how cold it is).
I have always felt that being outside a lot in fall while temperatures are falling and days are getting shorter helps A LOT with acclimatizing, but I’m curious about the actual physical or psychological reasons behind acclimatization too. I know people move here from hot countries and die for the first couple of winters, and then they are running around dressed as lightly as born Canadians. Something has happened with them.
[hijack]I’m always amazed at how kids never seem to get too hot or too cold. I see them splashing around in the ocean here when it’s pretty damn chilly, in bathing suits, no goosebumps or anything. I also see them running around, not even sweating, when I’m positively melting and can’t rouse myself to do more than reach for a cold drink. I’m not even going to mention all the 18 year old girls who only wear something more than a skimpy tank top when it’s 5 below.[/hijack]
I think it has something to do with puperty. I recall as a kid I never cared it if was hot or cold. As kids we were out constantly.
But I do recall around 12 years old I started seeking out air conditioned places in the summer and didn’t go out into the snow in winter and hated shoveling.
Before then even if it was zero outside we played.