Are you constantly cold? That’s what lies behind it

Some people are naturally chilblains. However, constant freezing can also be a serious sign of illness. What’s behind it and when should you act?

When you freeze, your body lacks heat. We freeze either inside the body or on the surface of the body. From a biological point of view, there is much more to the constant shivering than just cold feet: When there is a strong cooling from the outside, the blood vessels contract, blood circulation is disrupted and the body temperature drops. To counteract the threat of hypothermia, the body reacts with “defense mechanisms,” including muscle tremors.

Who freezes the fastest?

Some groups of people are more prone to shivering than others. Women are more likely to freeze than men, and older people are more likely to freeze than younger people. Infants also freeze particularly quickly.

Most of the time there is a harmless cause behind the freezing. It becomes critical when the feeling of cold occurs suddenly and is accompanied by cold sweats, chills or fever. In these cases, this indicates an illness, so you should seek medical help as quickly as possible.

Constant freezing as a sign of illness

If you’re constantly cold, this could be a serious warning signal from your body. Especially if you suddenly feel cold more often than usual, you should visit your family doctor. The feeling of cold may be due to one of the following medical reasons:

• Low blood pressure can trigger the feeling of cold. In addition to freezing, such hypotension causes other symptoms such as dizziness, paleness and tingling legs or arms.
• In some cases, the constant freezing is caused by a thyroid disorder. Hypothyroidism results in slowed metabolic processes in the body. Regulating your body temperature also takes a long time, which is why you freeze. Other symptoms that indicate a lack of thyroid hormones include sleep disorders, fatigue or hair loss. Your family doctor can confirm or rule out the disease during a blood test by determining the so-called TSH value.
• Sometimes people feel cold because they have a magnesium deficiency. This leads to circulatory problems, which in turn manifests itself in a constant feeling of cold. Here too, a medical examination can help to determine whether there is a deficiency.
• If you are constantly cold, an iron deficiency could also be responsible. The iron stores in the body regulate, among other things, the oxygen supply and thus blood circulation. Once the supplies have been used up, the body shows this with fatigue and constant cold.

What helps against constant freezing?

If there is no organic cause for the cold, there are a few things you can do to regulate your body temperature:

• Although it may seem obvious, you should dress warmer and, based on the onion principle, wear multiple layers of clothing. These work like a heat insulator and keep your body temperature constant.
• You can also counteract the feeling of cold with hot drinks and a hot water bottle. Homemade ginger tea, for example, is a good choice because it has an anti-inflammatory effect and promotes blood circulation.
• Sport and exercise also help against cold. If you find yourself standing outside for a long time in the winter, you can keep your body warm with simple “exercises”. For example, rock your feet back and forth to activate blood circulation. To keep your body warm, exercise regularly and get some fresh air at least once a day.
• Pay attention to your eating and drinking habits. A negative fluid balance reduces blood flow, so your body no longer provides enough blood to the internal organs. Therefore, make sure to always drink a glass of water or unsweetened tea alongside coffee. For example, we recommend rosemary tea as it stimulates circulation. More about this here: Sport in sub-zero temperatures: What you should consider when jogging etc.

• A study has found that nighttime sleep deprivation disrupts the body’s natural temperature and is more likely to cause heat loss. So you should make sure that you get enough sleep (at least seven hours). You can read more about this in this article: