Why do some people thrive when the temperature soars, while others can’t think straight without air-conditioning?

Updated August 21, 2013, 7:09 p.m. ET

Hot or Not? Why Our Inner Thermostats Differ

Some people thrive when the temperature soars; others can’t think straight.

ALINA DIZIK

Why do some people thrive when the temperature soars, while others can’t think straight without air-conditioning? Variables such as where a person grew up, their amount of body fat and even their hydration level can influence how they feel in hot or cold temperatures, says Michael Sawka, a professor at the School of Applied Physiology at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. People who avoid going outside when it’s hot—preferring to move straight from an arctic office to air-conditioned transportation to a well-chilled restaurant, store or home—can quickly lose their ability to acclimate, Dr. Sawka says. Without regularly experiencing heat, the body becomes less efficient at sweating and has more difficulty increasing blood flow to the skin—both functions that help the body cool itself.It takes one to two hours a day in hot temperatures to acclimate properly. Then, says Dr. Sawka, “you don’t feel the stress of the heat,” he says. “You feel more comfortable.”

When it comes to cold, most people have greater difficulty adapting. Some can eventually learn to ignore uncomfortably low temperatures, but “it’s a lot more dependent on body fat and the size of your body,” Dr. Sawka says.

The stereotype of an always-cold wife and overheated husband fighting over the thermostat has scientific basis, he says. Because women generally have less muscle, and men have greater body mass, which provides more insulation, it can be easier for women to feel chilled.

Since few people are exposed to extremes, Dr. Sawka says, most “now have a narrow range of comfort.” Here is how two professionals manage their quest for the perfect ambient temperature.

Ideal Temperature: 67 Degrees Fahrenheit

Keith LaFerriere, 43, Boston 
Executive vice president, Verndale, a digital-marketing agency

Most mornings, right after his girlfriend, Leslie Storrs, leaves for work, Keith LaFerriere nudges the temperature down on their thermostat from 76 to 72 degrees. “If I could set it lower without freaking her out, I would,” he says.

In summer, Mr. LaFerriere usually stays inside for lunch, ordering from an online delivery site so he won’t have to deal with the heat. On business lunches, he tries to sway the group away from outdoor dining.

He drinks cold water throughout the day year round. And, he says, “there isn’t a temperature where I wouldn’t drink iced coffee.”

Shorts are his wardrobe staple on any day when the temperature goes above 75 degrees and the dress code for client meetings is casual. “I’ll wear whatever I can get away with,” Mr. LaFerriere says.

When leaving work, he uses a mobile app to adjust his home thermostat remotely, to cool the house before his arrival. At home in the evenings, he sometimes uses the app to adjust the air-conditioning, rather than risk being seen approaching the thermostat by Ms. Storrs. “Sometimes I feel like I live in a refrigerator,” she says.

At bedtime, he turns on the ceiling fan. “Nine months out of 12, I’ll have a fan going,” he says. He keeps a floor fan in the living room and a smaller one in his office.

When the couple goes out, they often take her car, which she bought in part because of the dual-zone climate control, she says. His zone is set to 67; hers is set to 80 degrees.

So far, he hasn’t found a better way to beat the heat than simply staying indoors. “When the temperature reaches 85 degrees, I’m like toast,” he says.

Ideal Temperature: 82 Degrees Fahrenheit

K. Sujata, 53, Evanston, Ill. 
President, the Chicago Foundation for Women, which helps support nonprofits

Growing up in India’s state of Maharashtra, Ms. Sujata says she spent a lot of time outside, in temperatures that often hit or surpassed 110 degrees for several months each year.

Even after nearly 30 years in Chicago, she still loves the heat. On hot, humid summer mornings, she likes to jog along the shore of Lake Michigan. And she signs up for marathons in July and August. “It does not bother me,” she says.

Ms. Sujata brings a cardigan to her office, and recently she kept her suit jacket on for an outdoor meeting on an 85-degree day. “In the summer, I wear what most people would consider to be fall clothes,” she says.

Potential donors or associates who come to her office may find it a bit on the warm side because she keeps her office vents off.

“I think people are too polite to comment” on the temperature, says Ms. Sujata, who works in a Chicago high-rise where windows don’t open.

She drinks hot water or green tea as an afternoon pick-me-up. To warm up, she strolls outside at lunchtime.

At home on summer evenings, she keeps the windows open as much as possible. At breakfast, she spends time outdoors on her porch before heading to work.

Ms. Sujata says she enjoys feeling warm, but makes sure to wear cotton or linen fabrics to stay comfortable.

Nighttime means it is time to negotiate with her husband, Laurence Marks, who prefers the air-conditioning set to mid-70s. “I still have a very heavy down blanket that I sleep under,” says Ms. Sujata. And her husband? “He sleeps on top of it.”