It’s the age-old argument that brings stress into relationships, the temperature of your home. No matter what, my wife and I cannot seem to bridge the gender gap when it comes to what to set the temperature to. Why are ladies always reaching for extra layers while guys complain about how warm the house is? It turns out this isn’t just another gender difference – genetic differences between men and ladies cause them to experience heat and cold differently. Women have more evenly-distributed fat layers which allows them to pull moderate blood back to their core organs. This explains why women’s core temperatures are higher than men’s. Female bodies are more effective at storing heat than mens’. When all of the blood is pulled back to the core, that leaves a little warmth for a woman’s extremities. Our extremities determine when we are hot or cold. So when ladies’ hands and feet experience a drop in temperature, they recognize cold instantly. The body’s metabolism is responsible for producing heat. Because men have a naturally higher metabolic rate than ladies, their bodies produce more heat. That means that men don’t recognize coldness as easily as ladies do. But, that also means that men have a lower tolerance for warmer temperatures than ladies. Not everything is determined by your gender when it comes to feeling hot or cold, though. Other factors include your body’s amount of fat, how active you are, and whether you smoke. To prevent thermostat wars without sacrificing anyone’s comfort, you can install a programmable control device or install zone control. Then everyone can be comfortable at the same time in your home.