DID YOU KNOW?
6. Older Is Colder When It Comes to Body Temperature. If it seems like you're always cold, even during the dog days of summer, it could be your age. Studies show that as we age, our normal body temperature declines slightly.
7. Body Temperature Can Help Pinpoint Time of Death. This isn't just crime-show fodder: When someone dies, their body begins to cool at a set rate, about 1.5 degrees an hour. If a coroner examines the deceased within 24 hours, and the body hasn't been in a room that's not too hot or too cold, body temperature can be used to fairly accurately estimate the time of death.
9. Men and Women Are Different. When you're exposed to the cold, your body begins to conserve heat. It wants to protect your vital organs, such as your heart, lungs, and brain, so more blood flows to these areas and less to your hands and feet. This affect happens to women much more quickly, meaning a woman's hands and feet will get colder more quickly than a man's. Women will feel the effects once the temperature goes below 70 degrees. For men, the chills won't kick in until the temp dips below 67 or 68 degrees.
10. A Fever Can Be Your Friend. You have a fever when your temperature is at least 1 degree over your normal body temperature, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. Most people fret over a fever, but it actually can be helpful. A reaction of your body's immune system, a fever indicates that you're fighting off an infection, and it can help your body return to normal.
A reaction of your body's immune system, a fever indicates that you're fighting off an infection, and it can help your body return to normal.
8. That Hat May Not Help You Retain Body Heat. Remember your mom telling you to wear a hat when it's cold outside because body heat is lost through your head? Turns out, her advice might not be completely spot-on, according to a report published in the medical journal BMJ. When you lose body heat and your body temperature drops, it does so from all parts of your body at an equal rate.