By

CBSNews /

CBS/ February 8, 2011, 12:33 PM

Why Do Women Feel Colder Than Men?

Evangelos Venizelos, the head of the Socialist PASOK party leaves after a press conference following the meeting with leader of the New Democracy conservative party Antonis Samaras in Athens, on Wednesday, June 20, 2012. The three parties that back Greece's commitments to bailout creditors have agreed in principle to form a coalition government and are negotiating the final details, officials said Wednesday. The agreement follows protracted negotiations between the conservative New Democracy party, the Socialist PASOK and the smaller Democratic Left party, after a national election on Sunday. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Evangelos Venizelos, the head of the Socialist PASOK party leaves after a press conference following the meeting with leader of the New Democracy conservative party Antonis Samaras in Athens, on Wednesday, June 20, 2012. The three parties that back Greece's commitments to bailout creditors have agreed in principle to form a coalition government and are negotiating the final details, officials said Wednesday. The agreement follows protracted negotiations between the conservative New Democracy party, the Socialist PASOK and the smaller Democratic Left party, after a national election on Sunday. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) / Petros Giannakouris

When it comes to women compared to men and temperature settings, more often than not, women will say they feel colder.

Turns out, there's a biological explanation behind this heated battle at the thermostat, reports CBS News Correspondent Kelly Cobiella.

Women conserve more heat around their core organs, which means less heat circulates throughout the rest of their body.

Terri Slater and her husband, Richard, who have been married for five-and-a-half years, are all-too-familiar with this biological predicament.

Special Section: Dr. Jennifer Ashton
Dr. Jennifer Ashton's Twitter page

The temperature outside their Boca Raton, Fla. home was 85 degrees on a given day. But the battle inside was just as heated - they admit sneaking around, constantly changing the temperature!

The tug-of-war over the thermostat can get worse at night, when our bodies produce less cortisol.

According to Dr. Tamara Kuittimen, cortisol is a very powerful hormone. It's your fight hormone. So it keeps you warm, gets your adrenaline roaring and helps with body warming.

As it gets later, women can get even colder.

Some cars even enable you to control the temperature independently on each side.

CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton joined "Early Show" co-anchor Erica Hill to share some insight on the thermostat wars.

Beside the biological reason, are other factors involved?

"The answer is 'yes,' Ashton replied. "There can an combination of factors at play. You talk about medical reasons. Probably the two most common for women are anemia or a low blood count or an underactive or low-fuctioning thyroid. Both of those can make you feel colder. Very easy to diagnose and treat."

If this news is giving you the chills, don't fret - there could be some benefits to being colder. What are the perks?

For that and much more, click below to see the entire Ashton interview:

Copyright 2011 CBS. All rights reserved.
5 Comments Add a Comment
linkicon reporticon emailicon
OldOllie says:
I've always been a fan of Occam's Razor: the simplest explanation is most likely correct. Women are on average smaller than men. That gives them a lower ratio of volume, which holds heat, to surface area, which radiates heat.
reply
linkicon reporticon emailicon
it_begins says:
Big long fluffy explanations. How about something more mundane, like:

Women shave their legs, and that tiny bit of hair on 30% of your body makes a big difference.
reply
linkicon reporticon emailicon
rmig1 says:
I am always cold----I even have a twin warming blanket for my side of the bed! Something else to consider is clothing. As you watch the morning news notice that men are wearing three layers on the upper body and long pants with warm socks. Women wear the complete opposite--light weight clothing, V (sometimes deep V) necklines, even sleeveless tops during the cold winter months, bare legs----how do they stay warm on a set that has cool temps for the men? I prefer turtlenecks with an under layer for the winter months!
reply
linkicon reporticon emailicon
barbaram99 says:
I am post menopause. I feel the cold more so. My periods stopped at 37. i feel chilly a lot. Before I went thru the change I was fine..I put more blanets on the bed. Wear a knit hat indoors in winter. I dress to combat it.
My roommate likes it cooler. We sleep in sep rooms.
I am 56.
reply
linkicon reporticon emailicon
melvavic says:
In my household, I am the one who is always warm and my husband feeling cold...I like is cooler and my husband is always complaining that is is cold...and don't tell me it is just phase...I have always been like this all my like and I definitely know I am a woman...
reply