Why do people think being cold is automatically more an issue than being too hot?

[MotorGreenGrass]

I started a thread about the heating and my lodger.

Automatically people state they can’t be cold…. At the same time, neither can I be too hot?

So surely a consensus can be meet?

Because if you are a cold person that struggles to warm up it's far more miserable than being too hot. I was far more comfortable in Death Valley (at a mere 44C) than I am when I get a chill. I think unless you are a cold person you can't understand being properly chilled to the bone and the painful aches, brain fog and misery it causes

Exactly.

No amount of jumpers makes the cold air you are breathing in more comfortable.

@GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER

Having lived in countries where it used to get absolutely stinking hot - I’m talking 45-50 C - and the power was often off (so no air con) I think I can say that cold is definitely preferable - at least you can wrap up warm. Unfortunately you can’t wrap up cold, though I did hear of people with flat roofs wrapping themselves in wet sheets and lying up there to sleep!

This isn't relevant to the UK is it?

Because if you are a cold person that struggles to warm up it's far more miserable than being too hot. I was far more comfortable in Death Valley (at a mere 44C) than I am when I get a chill. I think unless you are a cold person you can't understand being properly chilled to the bone and the painful aches, brain fog and misery it causes

Absolutely agree with this. People who say ‘just put on another jumper and have a hot drink’ have no idea - that literally does nothing. Feeling cold means every part of you is freezing - your head, face, back, shoulders, hands, feet, bum. An extra jumper does nothing to improve things.

Working in a cold office is miserable - at least when I’m working at home I can put on a hat, extra jumpers, fleeces, gloves, my heated throw. I cover 4 sites - I can’t cart that lot around. My absolute worst bugbear though is air con - it’s never hot enough in Scotland to warrant it. The days when it’s nice and warm outside and I’m forced to sit in an office with the air con blasting makes me feel absolutely murderous.

Ah now the trick with the cold is NOT to get to the stage where it feels like the damp has got into you - that feeling like your blood is actually freezing and you can’t get warm. The worst is when it’s cold wet and windy. Brrrrrrr.

I love the heat. When it's 30 degrees outside I love it.

But I can't stand being too hot through central heating. It's a different heat. It's stifling and claggy and makes me feel angry.

I almost never have the heating on when it's just me, and sleep with a window wide
Open all year round.

@RampantIvy

Because if you are a cold person that struggles to warm up it's far more miserable than being too hot. I was far more comfortable in Death Valley (at a mere 44C) than I am when I get a chill. I think unless you are a cold person you can't understand being properly chilled to the bone and the painful aches, brain fog and misery it causes

Exactly.

I don't think being cold is worse than being too hot - I've experienced both tendencies, my natural state is warm but I was anorexic as a teenager and have experienced not being able to get warm.

I'd rather be too cold than too hot, hands down - you can always put layers on if you're chilly, but there's only so far you can strip off.

Feeling too hot (for me, anyway) makes me feel sick, headachey and irritable. Being cold makes me quiet and tired. I prefer the cold!

Being to hot is far worse than being cold.

I find being hot far worse than being cold!

I can bundle up with layers if cold, or use a hot water bottle or blanket etc.

If I’m hot then open window, fan on etc but then I’m stuck.

We have this issue every time my mum visits.
She's always freezing cold, even when our house is a normal temperature (thermostat sits at 17 degrees and we're all warm enough).

She brings a jumper but complains of being cold CONSTANTLY.

I don't want to sweat my tits off just so she's warm enough?!

My absolute worst bugbear though is air con - it’s never hot enough in Scotland to warrant it. The days when it’s nice and warm outside and I’m forced to sit in an office with the air con blasting makes me feel absolutely murderous

I could have written your post. What's wrong with opening a window when it is warm outside? I am in Yorkshire so we don't get the stifling heat that you get in London either. In summer I want to wear nice summer dresses, but when I go into the office I have to wear tights and a cardigan with a summer dress.

Using aircon when it isn't necessary is a monumental waste of electricity and money.

It hurts when it's cold. I can do outside cold; I run all year round in all weathers. At its coldest, I start leggings, long sleeves top and running gloves. And I'm fine.

But if I'm at home, I end up hunched over, so my back and shoulders hurt. My knees hurt. My finger joints hurt. My long nose gets cold. My lips go blue. Reynauds kicks in. I'm early 40s so fuck knows how bad this will get.

I'm used to wearing 3 layers at home in the winter, but I'm up to 4 or 5 this year and it's still not great. Vest, thermal, thin long sleeve top, t shirt, jumper. Padded hybrid coat if necessary. Clothes aren't as warm as they were when i was a kid. A jumper used to make you too hot. Now they just seem to be for show.
Evenings are better cos I can sit under a blanket. But you can't do that in the day, cos then you're colder when you move about.

Our heating is 20 at its hottest.

One of the contributory factors to me leaving my ex was that he refused to heat our then house sufficiently. I was f'ing miserable and despite extra layers, blankets, hot water bottles etc I just never felt warm enough to relax.
Now I have my own little house which I keep pleasantly warm at 19-20 degrees. I still need a blanket, jumper and hot water bottle to keep off the chill in the evening. I guess I just run cold.
If I'm too hot I just take off a layer, open a window, have a cool shower, etc.
But ultimately I think some people run hot and others cold 🤷‍♀️

I'd much rather be too hot than too cold. I hate being cold. I love lying in the sun and being toasty on holiday.

When everyone else is wearing a t shirt here, i'm still wearing my coat.

I just feel the cold a lot I guess

Nope as a child my dad would never turn on the heating I remember crying because I felt too cold in a freezing damp house . Absolutely hate being cold always have the heating on and loads of layers, When I'm too hot I just strip off.

I am another cold-blooded one. I wish it was as easy as just putting more layers on. It is not. That cold to the bone, feeling physically unwell feeling is not solved by fluffy socks.

I guess only people who really feel the cold would understand that though.

If you're talking about heating a house (or not) then being too cold and being too hot are equally bad. You need to find a happy medium where the too cold person can add a layer, use wrist warmers, a hot water bottle (or whatever) and the too hot person can wear bare feet and a t-shirt and drink cold drinks. It's probably somewhere around 19-20C.

Some days (including today) I bore myself by moaning on and on about how cold I am. I walk around with a hot water bottle strapped to me and the heating on and I can’t warm up. I feel like such a weirdo, but I hate it. I struggle to think about other things. It is very rarely too hot for me, even in a heatwave. I think we are all made very differently because I am not even thin and I have had my thyroid tested. No obvious explanation.

Also, at night I sleep in a tracksuit with two duvets and sometimes I am still cold. It is v unfair!

Feeling too hot (for me, anyway) makes me feel sick, headachey and irritable. Being cold makes me quiet and tired. I prefer the cold!
Yes, hot (only inside heating hot not summer hot) and cold does the same to me. I don't tend to shiver, the cold just gets in and completely through me but I just slow down and don't fight it. I've been cold and unable to get warm when very underweight so maybe I've just learnt to deal with it differently to some other people.

What a can of worms! :) We've each got our comfort range. Personally I prefer it warm and dislike the cold, though have been trying not to turn the heating on in the daytime (I work from home and have to pay for it). Like others have said, there's nothing worse than feeling cold to the bone and once you get like that there's not much you can do about it, it's just plain misery. I've been too hot before as well, in our recent heatwaves, but find this uncomfortable and not miserable.

M&S Merino wool tights are great, as are wool or partial wool skirts, or warm tracksuits. Thick acrylic/wool blend jumpers (think outdoor shops, think sheep ). Jeans just seem to leech the heat away (or make you too hot in the summer). Knee length boots (special pair for inside the house only), thick socks. But layering can only go so far and if you can't move around (e.g. working), there's really not much else to do apart from turn the heating on for a bit.

These threads come up every so often and there's never any agreement.
I can't cope with being cold, it makes me feel fluey, my back aches, I need to wee all the time. It doesn't matter how many clothes I wear, it doesn't help as the cold gets in somewhere. I think it may be a body temp thing, when people were stifling at 35 degrees a few years ago, I was fine. Unfortunately DH is the opposite!

I hate being cold. I grew up in a cold house and vowed mine would never be cold.

I do turn the radiators off upstairs during the day and the heating isn’t on when we’re not in, mind.

Layering up doesn’t work if the air is cold. I can’t sleep if I’m cold, I wear bed socks all the time.

@Blueuggboots

We have this issue every time my mum visits. She's always freezing cold, even when our house is a normal temperature (thermostat sits at 17 degrees and we're all warm enough).

She brings a jumper but complains of being cold CONSTANTLY.

I don't want to sweat my tits off just so she's warm enough?!

17 degrees?? No wonder she’s freezing. That’s not a normal temperature, that’s definitely on the cool side.

@GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing

I think it depends!

In a home, where you can go and get another jumper, get under a blanket etc, it’s probably better that the room temperature is on the cool side as there’s more you can do to adjust to it.

If you’re in an office or conference room or something, you’ve only got the clothes etc you came in with, and smart clothes tend to be quite cold (especially women’s). So better to have the room on the warmer side if people are feeling cold.

I ended up having a reasonable adjustment put in place when I still worked in the office. The air conditioning kept being put on really cold, my body just couldn't cope with being so cold. The temperature was raised or I was sent home (fully paid).