Why do women have hotter showers?

Luke Van der Meer
Nov 3 · 1 min read

We all joke about women taking showers that could strip the skin off us, but there has to be a reason?

Women have colder extremities

Women’s extremities are on average 3 degrees colder than men’s. This is for a couple of reasons:

  • The higher levels of oestrogen in women thickens the blood, reducing flow to the extremities
  • Men generally have a higher muscle mass than women. This leads to a higher resting metabolism, linked to burning more calories and higher blood flow. The result, keeping the extremities warmer.

Higher Core Body temperature

On average women have a slightly higher core body temperature. Womens bodies pull more heat back to their organs ridding the rest of the body of heat.

Hormonal birth control can further raise body temperature during different parts of the cycle which can amplify this cold feeling for women.

Comfort

A Dutch study found women were more comfortable at temperatures 2.5 degrees warmer than men. This explains the battle between the sexes in the office. Most offices are set to a comfortable temperature based on men’s metabolic rates.

Conclusion

Finally the shower. With colder extremities and colder feeling skin, it seems women need a hotter shower to achieve the same warming sensation.

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