is it true that you lose most of your body heat from your head?

if your mother ever told you that you should wear a hat because you lose half your body heat through your head, she wasn’t alone in that belief. in fact, according to live science ,  the u.s. army also subscribed to this, claiming that we lose 40 to 45 per cent of body heat through our head. except that it’s not true.

a 2008 study investigating various medical myths found that heat loss is relatively proportional to the skin that is exposed. since the head accounts for about seven per cent of the body’s surface area, it stands to reason that a person only loses seven to 10 per cent of their body heat through the head.

according to the government of canada , 37ºc (99ºf) is normal body temperature, but when your core body temperature drops by 1 or 2ºc (1.8 or 3.6ºf), or your body is exposed to severe cold, there could be harmful effects on your health.

when the body is exposed to extreme cold

the early stage of frostbite, called frostnip, is treatable by warming the area and there are no lasting effects. frostbite begins with cold skin that eventually goes numb. it can then turn red, white, blueish-white, grayish-yellow, purple or brown depending on the person’s skin colour and how severe the frostbite is. the skin can also appear hard or waxy. severe frostbite needs medical attention as there can be permanent damage to the skin, muscle, and other tissue.

when exposed to extreme cold, the body can also develop hypothermia — losing heat faster than it can produce it. this causes the body’s internal temperature to drop to dangerously low levels and happens in three different stages.

shivering, goosebumps. in stage one, the body’s internal temperature drops by one or two degrees, and causes shivering, goosebumps on the skin and numbness in the hands.

harder to move, blue skin. stage two starts with a warm sensation as the body’s temperature drops between two to four degrees. at this point, it becomes much harder to move and extremities may start to turn blue. there may also be some mild confusion and paleness.

difficulty thinking and walking. in stage three of hypothermia, your body temperature drops below 32 degrees and doing simple things such as walking, talking, or even thinking become difficult. any exposed skin will turn blue, your pulse will decrease, and it will become hard to move. there is also an extreme risk of dying at this stage of hypothermia.

don’t miss a thing: sign-up for healthing’s newsletter

share story

share this story

is it true that you lose most of your body heat from your head?

email

facebook

x

linkedin

copy story link