1. Age: Older people are cooler. Our metabolism slows down as we age, and our bodies aren’t as active, so they use less energy, says Waleed Javaid, an infectious disease doctor at West Virginia University.
2. Gender: Women are hotter than men. Even outside of the peaks of the menstrual cycle, in older women, body temperature is higher, explains Parsonnet. Scientists aren’t sure why this is the case, she adds; “we just have a different setting.”
3. Time of day: early morning bath. “Temperature has a circadian rhythm,” says rheumatologist Jonathan Hausmann of Boston Children’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, whose recent study observed a drop between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. and a peak between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. This likely reflects increased activity during the day.
4. Height and weight: one lowers, the other raises. Body temperature decreases with height because more surface area loses more heat, while temperature increases somewhat with weight, Parsonnet explains.
Gn Health
