Body Temperature: Why do some people feel hot and some people feel cold in the same room?

It just is so subjective.  Maybe having more blood vessels in your skin dilated makes you feel hot, having them constricted makes you feel cool?

What I find is people with low body fat percentage tend to stay cold while those with high body fat percentage tend to stay hot.  Also, basal metabolic rate plays a part.  High BMR burns more calories, thus, the body's temperature is relatively high.  Increased metabolic rate is also the reason you feel hot during and after exercise.

There are a number of factors that determine how warm you feel. Natural body temperatures vary, and a couple of degrees can make a significant difference. Ironically, someone with a naturally higher body temperature will feel cooler, because their body is accustomed to being warmer. Factors such as body mass and blood circulation affect skin temperature, meaning some people can shed heat more effectively than others. Air movement also makes a signficant difference to cooling, so how people are positioned in a room can make a big difference, so can how people are dressed, since clothing bottles in body heat and keeps out air flow.   Speaking of air flow, evaporation from the skin also makes a huge difference. When water evaporates, it cools. That's the reason we sweat, so that the evaporation can keep our temperature down.  Someone with more skin moisture, more surface area exposed to the air and with more air moving past them will lose heat a lot faster than someone with dry skin, fully covered and away from any drafts.   How we feel temperature is more complex than we usually think about. Some of it has to do with different physical makeup. Some of it has to do with how we're dressed, some of it is just a matter of where we happen to be sitting. Even within a single room, those factors can add up to really change things.

If you’re anything at all like me, it doesn’t actually matter what  the temperature is outside because, no matter what, you will be freezing  your ass off. And then there are those who feel like they’re literally on fire in a  T-shirt and jeans in the dead of winter. I’ve never understood those  people, but I at least relate to the uncomfortable temperature struggle  that is all too real for so many of us. I seriously used to think that my family members, friends and  roommates were all out to get me, constantly dialing back the thermostat  after it was set to a normal temp. Now I realize I’m just one of those people who is constantly cold no  matter the circumstance — and that I also fall into conspiracy theories  about my friends and family alarmingly fast. But that’s a topic for  another time. We’re here to finally put the temperature debate that’s sweeping the  nation (or just my office) to bed and figure out why some of us just  don’t get to be comfy like the others. Seriously, it’s a cool 70-something degrees inside the Elite Daily  headquarters, and I’m typing to you from underneath four layers of  jackets and a Snuggie. Life isn’t fair. Hot flashes and the chills could be indicators of poor health Part of the reason some of us may always feel cold while others remain uncomfortably hot could actually be our health. http://www.healthblurbs.com/causes-for-always-feeling-so-hot-and-too-cold-heat-and-cold-intolerance-sensitivity-symptoms/ some  of these issues are ones that often go unnoticed, such as anemia,  malnutrition, infection, weight issues (being both underweight and  overweight poses various symptoms) and even http://www.healthblurbs.com/lymphocytic-thyroiditis-symptoms-silent-thyroiditis-treatment/. What’s one way we can fix this? Regular health checkups and open dialog with your doctors. When it comes to your health, maintaining open communication with a  professional is crucial in discovering and treating problems like these  before they become even more serious issues — or worse, leave you  constantly feeling uncomfortably hot or cold. If you’re always hot or cold, you could be way too stressed http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/always-hot-vs-always-cold that  stressful situations such as fighting, heavy workloads and busy  schedules could be the cause for our discomfort in normal temperatures. Michael Lynch, a clinical neuropsychologist, says there is a lot  going on inside the body that causes the weather-related effects we feel  from stress. He tells the magazine, If you’re stressed, your autonomic nervous system kicks  in, causing blood to move toward your body’s core organs. This is your  body’s fight or flight response. So, if you’re starting to feel extremely hot in the office while  everyone else appears to be drowning under blankets made of jackets, it  may be because of the fight that’s brewing between you and your friends  or family. Try leaving the unnecessary stress at home, and move forward with  your day on a positive note in order to remain calm, cool and comfy. Your happiness may be affecting your climate control Apparently, it’s not just health and other physical factors that are  affecting those of us who consistently feel weather extremes. Even if the temp in the room or outside is normal, many of us may feel somewhat off based on our emotional state. http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/why-some-of-us-are-always-cold-and-others-are-constantly-hot/story-fneuz9ev-1227141500440 that when people feel isolated, alone or depressed, they are more likely to feel the shivers. The opposite is true for the times we feel connected and more social. That warm, fuzzy feeling that happens when you’re surrounded by  people you love spending time with? It really is a physical feeling that  makes us more receptive to heat and leaves us feeling warmer and  happier than if we were surrounded by strangers. So when our hearts are cold, we are too — despite whatever the actual temperature may be. How to avoid feeling extra hot and too, too cold So now that we know exactly what is causing us to feel such  uncomfortable temperatures in normal environments, what can we possibly  do to fix it? Apparently, there are a few ways to eradicate the cold or stop  sweating for no good reason. Everything from the clothes we wear to the  food we eat plays a role in how our bodies adapt to the temperature, http://www.alternet.org/story/106424/why_do_women_often_feel_colder_than_men. Certain foods in different climates will help our internal balance of  hot and cold take place, such as eating soups and carbohydrates to stay  warm during the winter months. Veggies and greens along with lightly portioned meals should benefit you during the hotter, summer months. Setting the thermostat between 70-75 degrees will also help you  maintain the perfect temp for the average person, and finding your sweet  spot in that range is crucial to feeling comfortable. But the final trick to avoid extreme heat or cold may just be in our heads. Apparently, http://www.alternet.org/story/106424/why_do_women_often_feel_colder_than_men like tropical paradises is actually proven to release chemical endorphins that assist in maintaining body heat. Source: http://elitedaily.com/news/world/cold-hot-debate/981177/

Feeling of hotness or coldness is definitely a result of thermal interaction between body and surrounding. A body will feel hot or cold depending upon whether it is gaining or loosing heat. Some may feel cold and other may feel colder, depending upon rate of heat transfer from the body to the room.So lets come to the point. Heat transfer from a body depends upon two main factors: Temperature difference and Surface area of heat transferEach body is generating heat, because of several chemical processes or say metabolic activities inside the body, which has to be constantly dissipated outside to atmosphere to be in the thermally comfort zone. Depending upon size (surface area) and metabolic activities (heat generation rate), different persons have different rate of heat transfer to the surrounding due to which different person feels different in the same room.

Some items I can think of regarding other external factors vs internal body differences: Your seating place may be next to a window and you are being impinged with radiated heat from the sun. Your seating place may be under the room ventilation's outlet air vent versus the return air vent. Your seating place happens to be at an awkward corner so the air doesn't circulate well there. Some sort of a wind chill factor; ie. the air in different areas of the room may be at the same temperature, but if it's circulating around you, you feel cooler than stagnant air at the same temperature.

It has mostly to do with the metabolism of the individual. The more a person is active, i.e., the faster the metabolism, the more heat the body will produce making him/her complain about the heat. An average human continuously generates heat at the rate of around 100W (imagine a 100W light bulb). But this varies individual to individual, depending on their metabolism. Hence, people feel differently to the same conditions.