Can one acclimatize to cold -- and remain healthy -- by enduring some chilliness at the beginning of the cold season?

Question

Where I live in Canada, winter can be pretty cold. Sometimes -35 C. I work outside for a living and among my work peers there's an age old debate about when is the best time to start wearing long underwear (we call them long johns).

Some of my colleagues argue that if you tough it out in the fall, your body will acclimatize and when it gets really cold, you'll be less cold than your counterparts and won't have to wear as much winter clothing. Others start wearing the long johns as soon as the first frost appears because they don't want to go through a period of feeling chilly.

Of course, people's bodies are different. Some run hot and some run cold. Some have more God-given insulation than others. But is there evidence for acclimitizating to cold -- e.g., that delaying long johns until severe cold will improve your tolerance for cold when it gets severely cold? And/or is there any evidence that being chillier than one might want to be in the fall could have adverse effects -- perhaps cause you to gain more weight than you really should or reduce your resistance to infections?

Answer 1

There is some merit to acclimatisation, but you have to be careful if you're out in the cold for prolonged periods. It's also unclear to what extent you acclimatise in terms of just comfort, and in terms of actually keeping warm (by burning more calories, which might or might not be desirable in its own right).¹

Natural insulation is interesting. It insulates your core, but temperature perception is in the skin, outside subcutaneous fat.

Both of these are smaller effects than the difference in people's cold tolerance - not just how much you feel the cold, but how much you mind it when you do. There's also the effect of a water/wind-proof outer layer.

As an example, in your climate, I'd be inclined not to wear long johns above about -10°C if wearing something reasonably warm and windproof on my legs (and good socks) and being reasonably active. But having tested mine down to about -20°C, I'd want more than those if standing around, and by -35°C even if active, I'd want significantly more insulation.

There are 2 things to watch out for:

• Getting too sweaty cools you fast when you stop exerting. Making this worse, in very cold air breathable stuff isn't all that great, because water condenses on the inside.
• I would always be sceptical of a "tough it out" attitude. That's how people get hurt, in general. Here, it matters whether you're out for long periods or not. I'll happily go outside for a few minutes in short sleeves down to -5°C, but wouldn't consider it if I wasn't guaranteed to be going back in somewhere warm very soon

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¹ Seasonal acclimatization to cold in man, Thomas R. A. Davis and D. R. Johnston, Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol. 16, No. 2, Mar. 1961 suggests both factors are relevant, with a reduction in preferred temperature of 5°F (approximately 3°C), and a small reduction in heat generation but a larger reduction in shivering.

Answer 2

I personally would take the safer perspective, and start wearing long underwear earlier than others, and adjust my outer layers as necessary. Long underwear is functionally little more than tight fitting sweat pants, just another layer to wear beneath your outer layers. Since outer layers are easier to change out of or into, I would focus on changing those rather than having to strip to change my protection from weather.

Answer 3

I am more sensitive to cold than the average person, in fact more sensitive than anyone I know. I have very little natural insulation.

On the specific point about acclimitization: people vary a great deal on how quickly and how well they acclimitate. For example I would never, never, never acclimitate to -35 C to the point where I would not need an underlayer.

I find a single layer not enough at about zero degrees C, particularly when it is windy. However, as a woman, I have an option that might be too far out of the envelope for most men: nylon panty hose. They are remarkably warm, extremely light, quickly and easily washed, and dry quickly. Long johns -- sweaty, dirty, a pain to wash, ugh.

I have been comfortable hiking at -15 C with the panty hose layer under fleece pants. Just pretend you are buying them for your overweight great aunt; you will find something that fits.

Answer 4

You probably own more than one long johns right? You might notice that they're not all the same warmness. Early in the winter, you can wear the ones with less insulation on colder days and regular underwear on warmer days. As the winter progresses, you use the thicker johns for the coldest days and thinner one for the less cold days. As the winter subsides, go the opposite way.

Combine this with varying thickness level of your outer pants, upper base layers and upper wear, so that you get a more constant body temperature throughout the year.