Research
Why do we feel colder as we age? Scientists are tracing the signals
Earth.com · By Sanjana Gajbhiye ·
The Brief
- Older people can feel chilly in rooms that feel comfortable to younger people, according to the source.
- Brown fat burns sugar and fat to supply the body with heat.
- A new mouse study reports that brown fat took much longer to respond to cold in old animals.
Why it matters
The findings offer a possible biological explanation for why older people feel colder, which could matter for comfort and health in later life. The evidence comes from mice, so it does not yet establish the same mechanism in humans.
Who’s affected
- older adults
- researchers studying ageing and thermoregulation
An older person can feel chilly in a room that feels comfortable to someone younger. Some of the explanation may lie in brown fat , which burns sugar and fat to supply the body with heat. In a new mouse study, this fat took much longer to respond to cold in old animals than in…