Another cold snap is approaching. Some people deal with it by taking an invigorating walk outside, while others hibernate with a cozy blanket and biscuits.

But one thing seems to be common when temperatures drop: we like talking about how cold it feels. Comments such as “I am so cold, I can feel it in my bones” are a common greeting in wintertime.

So, is there any truth to this particular complaint?

In the UK, the relatively high humidity even in cold temperatures means moisture in the air moves the warm air next to our bodies away quite quickly. It also sees moisture absorbed into our clothes, which then conducts heat away from the body. Water has an almost 70-fold higher rate of heat transfer than air.

The body is most efficient at approximately 37°C, but our extremities can be up to 6°C cooler. And there are variations around this body temperature dependant on sex, age and health status. Older people tend to feel the cold more, and women are more sensitive to the cold than men.

How cold affects our bones

Our bones don’t actually feel the cold as we sense it. They lack the same temperature-sensitive receptors that we have in our skin.........

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