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Sep 28, 2009 10:30 pm US/Central
Why Does Fall Seem Colder Than Spring, For Some?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
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He says our bodies don't change all that much between seasons, but there are big differences in how each of us feel cold. Much of it has to do with insulation in the form of fat -- an obvious insulator -- and muscle.
CBS
It happens every year the first day we feel fall. Many of us wonder why 50 degrees in September feels colder than 50 degrees in March.
Jonathan Townsend still went sailing on Lake Calhoun. He couldn't resist the wind.
"It's all relative. If we had a bout of 60s next week, it's be like tropics again," he said. "If we had 50s in July, we'd all think it was cold."
Experts say those feelings are in mostly our brains rather than our bodies.
According to University of Minnesota Professor Pail Iaizzo, "Mostly, it's psychological. Because you're just not prepared for 50 degrees all of the sudden."
He says our bodies don't change all that much between seasons, but there are big differences in how each of us feel cold. Much of it has to do with insulation in the form of fat -- an obvious insulator -- and muscle. People with more muscle have the ability to generate more heat through muscle contractions.
"If you have more cells, bigger mass, you're going to get a bigger boost from that response," said Dr. Iaizzo.
Iaizzo also says how much we shiver and how quickly our blood vessels constrict can also have an impact. When a person gets cold, their blood vessels constrict.
"The blood is shunted away from the skin, so I don't lose heat through the blood," said Iaizzo.
Some things people can't control. What they can decide is how they dress and mentally prepare for winter.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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