6 curious reactions of our body to the cold

This time we want to look at the reactions of our body when the temperature is very low . Do not you react bodily in a very strange way? Let's review some of these responses to the cold .

1- Hardening of the nipples
This reaction to the cold is very common and can be really embarrassing. We still do not know why it happens in concrete, but it has a lot to do with the fact that we get the " goose bumps ".

This reaction occurs when the cold stimulates the erector muscles of the hair, which in other mammals would cause better isolation against the cold, but it does not stop working for us. All it does is cause the cells of the aureole of the nipple to shrink , causing the skin to contract and the nipple to do the opposite. It can also make the Montgomery glands (around the nipple) protrude a little more. The truth is that although the reaction is well known, there are few studies that have investigated the reason why it is triggered. A new field in which to deepen.

2- Retraction of male intimate parts
Generally, the scrotum and the testicles will shrink when there is a very low temperature and conversely when the temperature is higher. Why does this happen?
In winter, the male body tries to protect its sperm and maintain its quality by regulating its temperature . For that it contracts the testes and the scrotum bringing them closer to the body so that they are more tempered. In summer it does the opposite so that they do not suffer from excessive heat.

3- Goosebumps
The "goosebumps" consists of a " piloerection ". This is a reaction of the sympathetic nervous system that causes the hair follicles to protrude while some muscles contract. It usually happens when we are cold or experience a very intense emotion , such as fear.
This is a vestige of when the human being had more hair and that we share with many other mammals . It does not help us anymore, but other creatures, like cats, allow them to protect themselves from the dangers, since with the piloerection they can seem much bigger than they really are and in case of cold, the fur in this disposition isolates better .

4- Increase in libido
A study conducted by the reputed blog on sexual behavior "The Psychology of Human Sexuality" asked 114 men to measure the attraction they felt for several women each month to find out if there was any difference between the colder and warmer months.

Monthly they were shown two groups of photographs: one of female faces and the other of female bodies in a swimsuit. Interestingly, the results were that the measure of attraction felt by the female faces did not vary throughout the year. However, the attraction for female bodies increased during the colder months (December, January and February).
This study also finds an ally in an investigation conducted by the brand "Lovehoney" which concluded that, in general, they tend to maintain relations more frequently in December, with a remarkable difference compared to the other months.

Why does this happen? The researchers believe that it is due to the temperature . If it's cold we need more contact than during the summer. It may also be due to the fact that in winter we do not see the skin of our congeners so often, so seeing nakedness can be more stimulating. In this sense, it would be logical that in summer the libido did not shoot so much when seeing naked bodies, since it is common to see many stretches of skin of other people when we go to the beach.

5- Do women feel colder than men?
Researchers at the University of Utah discovered in 1998 that women had a higher body temperature than men, but only in the middle part of the body, since the extremities were something else entirely.

The female hands and feet were much colder than those of the men, 32º (approx.) Them and 30, 6º them. So when a woman feels cold she should focus especially on covering her limbs.

6- Does it make our nose drip?
More than the cold itself, what makes our noses drip are the changes in temperature that we expose our body to during the winter. We went from a very cold place to a much warmer one. This affects our mucosities that go from being more "solid" in environments at lower temperatures to dripping through the nose when we get warm.

Have these reactions ever happened to you? Did you know them?