The Thermostat Fight Has A Genetic Basis!

Ok readers, if you are a woman living with a man, you most likely have the thermostat battle at least once a week. The woman tends to turn up the temperature, and the man tends to lower it. Full disclosure—we have this battle every day in my house. I have even learned how to remotely control my thermostat without my husband being made aware. (Shhhhhh!)

What do I sneak the thermostat to? Always warmer. I hate being “over air conditioned” and my husband will tell you he hates “feeling like he is in a sauna.”

Sure, I am oversimplifying here without regard for the effects of menopause and thyroid issues on many people’s temperature preferences. Yet, the overwhelming majority of women and men are fighting this same thermostat battles—at home and at work.

Now, a fascinating study reported in The Washington Post proves women right! Well, kind of.

Scientists studied hundreds of college students, assigning them an hours’ worth of math, logic, and word problems in different temperature controlled rooms, ranging from 61 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Guess what? For every increase of almost 2 degrees in temperature, women’s math scores went up by almost 2 percent! The same increase in temperature actually lowered men’s scores.

In other words, increased temperature means less productivity for men and higher productivity for women! Conversely, lower temperatures mean higher productivity for men and less productivity for women.

The study had everyone wearing similar clothing, so we can rule out tank tops or shorts making women colder.

Not only is this interesting because it backs up what many of us, men and women, have been feeling for years in our homes, but it also has important implications for the workplace.

Most offices are set at cooler temperatures: usually what makes men in suits and long sleeve shirts more comfortable. This leaves women in skirts or short sleeve blouses (appropriate for the workplace) left out in the cold, literally. Perhaps offices across the country should consider this atmosphere as not only chillier for women, but leading to less productivity!

As the study authors put it: “The findings suggest that in gender-balanced workplaces, temperatures should be set significantly higher than current standards.”

YES!