The numerous potential causes for coldness include hypothyroidism, calorie reduction and general aging, where people become more sensitive to cold temps due to a decrease in the metabolic rate and thinning of fat under the skin.
Some people naturally tend to feel colder than others without any discernible cause. However, cold intolerance can also indicate an underlying medical condition, such as hypothyroidism, anemia, or peripheral artery disease.
An underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism).
Feeling cold is a common symptom. A simple blood test for TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) can determine if you have this problem.
"Recent studies have shown that ACTN3, a common genetic variation in the skeletal muscle gene, can affect your tolerance to cold. People who lack ACTN3 are less able to maintain their body temperature and resist cold temperatures as compared to those who don't."
Poor circulation
Underlying arterial disease could be causing inadequate blood circulation, making it hard to maintain core body temperature, especially in your extremities. Smoking affects temperature regulation in a similar way by causing blood vessels to constrict.
Hypothermia is a medical emergency that occurs when your body loses heat faster than it can produce heat, causing a dangerously low body temperature. Normal body temperature is around 98.6 F (37 C). Hypothermia (hi-poe-THUR-me-uh) occurs as your body temperature falls below 95 F (35 C).
When circulation is hindered, blood is restricted from reaching the parts of the body farthest from the heart, like the nose, toes, and hands, resulting in coldness. To increase blood circulation, try light exercise, wearing compression socks, and massage (putting on more layers helps, too, of course).
Low iron levels are one of the most common reasons for chronic coldness. That's because iron helps red blood cells carry oxygen throughout your body, so it's able to produce heat, Dr. Phillips explained.
Why am I always cold and tired? If any of these symptoms sound familiar, you may be dealing with a very common blood disorder called anemia. It affects more than 3 million Americans and over 1.6 billion people worldwide – and it's much more common in women and young children than in men.
What is important to understand is that body temperatures may vary from person to person depending on their age, activity and the time of the day. While all humans are warm blooded and can regulate their body temperatures, there are some people who may feel colder or hotter than other individuals.
Raynaud's phenomenon may be a sign of an underlying autoimmune disorder such as scleroderma or lupus, so it's important to see your doctor for diagnosis. Management options include avoiding cold weather and sudden temperature changes.
Can low vitamin D cause you to feel cold? Instead, vitamin D deficiencies typically result in rickets and other bone deficiencies. [10] While these conditions can lead to feelings of coldness, they don't seem to play as direct a role in thermoregulation as the B vitamins.
It could be a symptom of a problem with your nutrition, red blood cells (anemia), blood vessels, thyroid gland, or the brain's thermostat. Try to note how often it happens, how long it lasts, and if it's getting worse. Your doctor might do some tests to narrow down the cause.
Underactive Thyroid
It makes a hormone that helps your body stay warm and keeps your organs working like they should. If your thyroid doesn't make enough of this hormone, you have an underactive thyroid, also known as hypothyroidism. Besides chills without fever, symptoms can include: Fatigue.
Cold hands and feet can be a result of iron deficiency anemia. People with anemia have poor blood circulation throughout their bodies because they don't have enough red blood cells to provide oxygen to their tissue.
Low blood pressure
If your blood pressure gets too low, your body directs blood away from your extremities and toward the critical organs in your core. This can leave hands and feet feeling cold.
Blame our slower metabolisms. A study in the Journal of Applied Physiology showed that the resting metabolic rate, or the amount of energy your body burns at rest, was 23% higher in men than women. A slower metabolism causes women to produce less heat so they tend to feel colder.
Poor blood circulation
Whether it's a decreased circulation or something that's blocking your circulation, poor blood flow is another potential cause of your chilly disposition. “People with a decreased circulation to their extremities are definitely going to feel cold, especially in their hands and feet,” says Dr.
When we're anxious, our bodies go into fight, flight, or freeze response to regulate our temperature, which may result in chills. Chills affect us all at different points in our lives. Often, this is our body's response to being cold. But you might not know that chills can also be a symptom of anxiety.
Insufficient insulation. Not sufficient clothing or heat retention. Poor circulation. Poor shelter.
A drop in metabolic rate means a drop in heat production. Metabolism can drop as much as 10% in humans during sleep! Actually sleeping at night could also be the reason for the temperature drop. As night is colder than a day, keeping your body temperature higher would cost more energy.
“Basically, men generate their own little heat islands, kind of like walking space heaters,” Dr. Danoff says. “But since women typically have less muscle mass and evaporate less heat through the pores in their skin, they might feel colder than men in a room with the same air temperature.”
Common causes include: Being outside without enough protective clothing in winter. Falling into cold water of a lake, river, or other body of water. Wearing wet clothing in windy or cold weather.
Lack of vitamin B12 and iron deficiency can cause anemia and lead you to feel cold. Good sources of B12 are chicken, eggs and fish, and people with iron deficiency may want to seek out poultry, pork, fish, peas, soybeans, chickpeas and dark green leafy vegetables.