Why Are Some People Always Hot (or Cold) At Work?

Your office too hot or too cold? Or is it you?

Is it just hot in here or it’s you?

No, that’s a serious question for you and the pack that’s always feeling hot no matter how freezing the air conditioning is! It might be melting outside, but you’re the ones calling the housekeeping to make the office freezing cold! Besides cursing you all and sipping coffee after coffee, I often wonder, if all human bodies are supposed to be at the same basic temperature, why does yours always feel like it is somehow set to “tropical”?

And when you just can’t warm up – is there a deeper, underlying health issue?

Scientific Reasons

On days when I take my shawl home to wash and forget to get it the next day, I am doomed. Doctors have various reasons for it:

Hyperthyroidism: The brain has a thermostat center to regulate body temperature. The hormones regulate the body’s metabolism. For example, when it is cold outside, the skin registers the change in temperature and stimulates the brain and your thyroid to increase metabolism and create more heat. An over-active thyroid gland can produce too many of these hormones, putting your body on fast forward and leave you feeling sweaty and overheated all the time, no matter what you’re doing. And hyperthyroidism isn’t a rare disease - 1 in 10 Indian women have thyroids where the switch has been flicked to “overdrive.”

Skipping Meals: The body conserves energy and produces less heat when you don’t eat. That leaving you icy cold?

Sleep Deprivation: You know that lack of sleep can make you grumpy and foggy and its effect on your libido, but did you know that it can give you the chills as well? Lack of sleep can drop your body temperature by 0.5° C -1°.

Anaemia: A simple blood test can detect if you are anaemic. Hormonal imbalances in women, fluctuating oestrogen levels can make you sensitive to cold temperatures.

Stress: Your brain regulates the body’s temperature. Under tremendous stress, the brain can sometimes start slacking on the job. Stress also triggers the body’s fight-or-flight response, which draws blood to your core, and can make you feel hotter (this response can, however, also draw blood away from your extremities, which can make some people feel cold when they’re worked up).

Preggers? : Pregnancy increases the blood volume by as much as 50%. To better handle all that extra blood, your blood vessels dilate slightly, allowing the blood to come of the surface, which can make you feel hot.

You’re in Great Shape: Being regular with the gym really helps! A fit body means more muscle mass which raises your metabolism and overall body temperature. But if it feels like you’re burning, probably it is just the fruits of your workout but do check with your doctor.

How to Avoid Feeling Too Hot or Too Cold

While scientists continue to work for a cure (ha ha), there are a few ways to feel less than a ball of snow, or stop sweating for no good reason.

Everything from the clothes you wear to the food you eat plays a role in how your bodies adapt to the temperature. Soups, peppers and carbs help you stay warm in the colder months and fresh citrus fruits, leafy greens cool your body from within in summers.

Keep your core warm. A shrug or a stole which can warm your central body will bring down your overall body temperature as well.

Get movin’. Take the stairs, walk a little, get some sunshine. Physical activity helps in keeping the muscles working and keeping you warm.

If nothing else works, find your Sheldon Spot in office: The perfect location “in a state of eternal dibs”, where you can just be who you are, without the four extra layers of clothing.

Where are you on the spectrum? Forever complaining you’re freezing while everyone else thinks it’s fine? Let us know in the comments section below!