Surveys often find that about 30–50% of people report moderate to high stress levels in their daily lives, with fluctuations depending on age, gender, and socio-economic conditions.
Symptoms of stress include headaches, muscle tension, fatigue, upset stomach, anxiety, irritability, mood swings, restlessness, overeating/ undereating, trouble sleeping, and forgetfulness. Stress may also cause a feeling of cold through various mechanisms.
Fight-or-Flight Mechanism
When stressed, your body activates the sympathetic nervous system, preparing you for action. This triggers vasoconstriction, narrowing blood vessels in non-essential areas like the skin and extremities. Blood is redirected to core organs like the brain, heart, and muscles, reducing skin temperature and creating a feeling of coldness.
The fight-or-flight mechanism is the body’s response to stress or perceived danger, regulated by the autonomic nervous system and involving the release of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol.
Stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol play a significant role. Cortisol, in particular, can influence your metabolism and circulation, contributing to sensations of cold. Stress-induced hormonal changes might temporarily alter the body’s heat production and perception, intensifying the sensation of cold.
Muscle Tension
Stress often causes muscle tension, particularly in the shoulders, neck, and back. Muscle tension can affect posture and restrict natural movement. Limited movement reduces heat generation through physical activity, making the person feel colder.
Muscle tension activates the fight-or-flight response, leading to vasoconstriction (narrowing of blood vessels) and reduced peripheral warmth.
Prolonged tension can decrease circulation and amplify the sensation of coldness, especially in the extremities. Prolonged muscle tension can mimic mild shivering by causing micro-contractions, which might feel similar to being cold.
Tension in larger muscles may worsen symptoms in individuals with pre-existing circulatory issues. Reduced circulation means less warm blood reaches the skin, causing a sensation of coldness.
Sustained muscle tension consumes energy and redirects blood flow to support the contracted muscles. This can limit blood supply to other parts of the body, particularly those farthest from the core.
Hyperventilation
Hyperventilation is frequently linked to anxiety or stress, which activates the fight-or-flight response, further contributing to cold sensations through vasoconstriction.
Hyperventilation leads to excessive exhalation of carbon dioxide (CO₂). Low CO₂ levels (hypocapnia) cause blood vessels to constrict (vasoconstriction), particularly in the extremities, reducing blood flow and creating a cold sensation. As a response to hypocapnia, peripheral vasoconstriction the body restricts blood flow to non-essential areas (e.g., fingers, toes, skin) to preserve core functions. This results in colder hands, feet, and sometimes a general chill.
Hyperventilation may trigger mild muscle tremors or shivering, which can feel similar to being cold, even if body temperature is normal.
Hyperventilation, often associated with anxiety or panic attacks, can induce sweating. The evaporation of sweat can cool the skin, amplifying the feeling of coldness.
Chronic Stress
Prolonged stress can disrupt your hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which regulates body temperature and many other physiological processes. This may lead to persistent feelings of being cold, even when the environment is warm.
The HPA axis is central to the body’s stress response, and its overactivation or dysregulation can contribute to a sensation of feeling cold.
Activation of the HPA axis during stress releases adrenaline and cortisol, which prepare the body for "fight or flight." The hypothalamus, which regulates body temperature, is the control center of the HPA axis. Chronic stress or dysfunction in the axis can impair the hypothalamus’s ability to regulate temperature effectively, making the body feel colder than usual.
Chronic stress and prolonged HPA axis activation can lower the body’s metabolic rate over time. A slower metabolism produces less heat, contributing to cold sensations, especially in a relaxed or resting state.
The HPA axis prioritizes energy for critical organs like the brain, heart, and muscles during stress. This redistribution reduces blood and warmth to peripheral areas, making extremities feel cold.
Adrenal Fatigue
Chronic stress can cause fluctuations in cortisol levels, leading to adrenal fatigue or insufficiency in severe cases. Low cortisol can impair blood flow and heat generation, contributing to a constant feeling of being cold.
Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism and stress can independently and interactively contribute to a sensation of feeling cold. HPA axis dysfunction can influence thyroid hormone production, which is critical for metabolism and heat generation.
Hypothyroidism occurs when the thyroid gland produces insufficient thyroid hormones. These hormones regulate metabolism, which generates heat. A low metabolic rate reduces body heat production, leading to cold sensitivity.
Hypothyroidism can slow the circulatory system, decreasing blood flow to extremities, causing cold hands and feet. The skin may become dry and pale in hypothyroid patients, reducing insulation and making individuals feel colder.
Stress can worsen hypothyroidism or mimic its symptoms, including feeling cold. Chronic stress affects the hypothalamus, which regulates both the HPA axis and the thyroid. This can disrupt thyroid hormone production. Prolonged stress may lower levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), further impairing thyroid function and exacerbating cold sensitivity.
Both stress and hypothyroidism lead to fatigue, causing the body to conserve energy by reducing heat production.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), also known as myalgia encephalomyelitis, is a complex condition often associated with persistent fatigue, immune dysregulation, and various physiological abnormalities. Feeling cold is a common symptom in CFS.
CFS often involves dysfunction in the autonomic nervous system. This can lead to poor regulation of blood flow and body temperature, resulting in cold hands, feet, or an overall feeling of being cold. Vasoconstriction, a common stress response, may persist due to ANS dysfunction, limiting warm blood flow and causing cold sensations.
Many CFS patients have a reduced basal metabolic rate, sometimes linked to hypothyroidism or mitochondrial dysfunction.
CFS often involves chronic low-grade inflammation or immune system abnormalities. The body's response to inflammation can include vasoconstriction, leading to reduced warmth in peripheral areas.
Raynaud's Phenomenon
Stress can trigger this condition, causing temporary episodes of reduced blood flow to the fingers and toes, leading to numbness and coldness.
Immune Suppression
Immune suppression can indirectly contribute to the sensation of feeling cold due to its effects on the body's ability to maintain homeostasis and respond to external and internal stressors.
A suppressed immune system often corresponds to reduced overall metabolic activity. Lower metabolic rates result in less heat production, making the individual more prone to feeling cold.
Immune suppression may be associated with inflammation or reduced vascular responsiveness. Impaired blood flow to extremities or peripheral vasoconstriction can reduce warmth in the hands and feet.
Individuals with a weakened immune system are more susceptible to chronic or recurrent infections. Low-grade infections may cause chills or an inability to regulate body temperature effectively.
Immune suppression can disrupt communication between the immune system and endocrine pathways (e.g., the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis). Hormonal imbalances, such as low cortisol or thyroid hormone levels, can impair thermoregulation and exacerbate cold sensitivity.
Chronic stress weakens the immune system and activates the fight-or-flight response, causing vasoconstriction and prioritizing blood flow to vital organs.
Nutritional Deficiencies
Immune suppression is often linked to deficiencies in nutrients critical for heat production. Iron is needed for oxygen transport and metabolic heat generation. Zinc and vitamin B12 are essential for cellular energy production and immune function.
Lack of Movement
Stress can make you feel less active or even immobilized, leading to reduced blood circulation and a colder sensation. Physical activity stimulates blood circulation, which helps maintain body warmth. When there's a lack of movement, blood circulation slows down, particularly to the extremities. Without movement, blood vessels may constrict more easily, reducing the warmth in hands and feet, leading to a cold sensation.
Movement increases metabolism, which helps generate body heat. A sedentary lifestyle reduces the metabolic rate, leading to less heat production and increased cold sensitivity.
Physical activity burns calories, which in turn generates heat. Without activity, the body burns fewer calories, and thus, produces less warmth. Regular movement supports immune function by promoting circulation of immune cells.