The weather has been up and down where I live lately, we just came off a period of unseasonably warm days into much cooler days. I had yet to flip the AC back over to heat until last night when my house was showing 60 degrees. At that time, my hands, feet, and nose were freezing cold. Yet 60 degrees outside is a relatively nice day and certainly doesn’t leave you feeling freezing. On the flip side, if you’re house gets much higher than 72 you start sweating even though 72 is a pretty nice day outside.
Why does the indoor temperature seem to have such a greater affect on whether you feel hot or cold than the outdoor temp does?
In: Biology
Many reasons, here’s three big ones:
1. Outside, you are in the sun/wind/rain/humidity. All of those factors radically change the apparent heat to your body. Your climate controlled indoor setting is much less variable.
2. Most people are going to be wearing less clothing inside than outside, especially in February. Clothes keep a nest of warm air around you. If you lose that nest, then it can take a long time to get it back, especially if the air around you is cold.
3. Most of us are inside a lot longer than we’re outside. Inside is the *default* temperature for most of us. That means inside will be your default, and outside will be your adjustment. If outside is warmer than your house, then it will feel *very warm*. If outside is colder than your house, then it will feel *very cold*.
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