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Why We Fight Over the Thermostat
Myths, mysteries and frustrations over body-temperature differences
Temperatures rise around our house whenever my wife is too hot, or I’m too cold — or vice-versa. We clash over control of the thermostat, have heated discussions about whether windows should be open or closed, and wrestle blankets on and off the bed at night. Yet at any given moment, there’s no telling which side of the argument either of us might be on.
Why are our internal thermostats are so different? And why do our preferences flip-flop?
Turns out each person’s temperature tolerance involves a complex mix of genetics, body composition, physics, aging and various circumstances of the moment. Yet the scientific understanding of how it works has a history of inaccurate data and false assumptions. Let’s clear it all up.
Busting a big myth
Contrary to popular belief, room-temperature preferences are not strictly divided along male-female lines, says Boris Kingma, PhD, a thermophysiologist at The Netherlands Institute for Applied Science.
“It is in fact about people with higher body-heat production vs. lower body-heat production,” Kingma explains. “People that have a high body-heat production may prefer a cooler environment than people with…
