What is Thermoception?
Thermoception is our sense of temperature.
It allows us to know if we are too hot or cold.
What does under-sensitivity look like?
If you're under sensitive to it you might not feel the cold or the heat.
This can mean:
- you don't wear enough clothes in winter or wear too many in summer
- you forget sunscreen as you're not aware your skin is burning or warm
- you can miss the signs of thirst from heat and only recognize this is a problem when you feel faint or tired
- that your limbs go blue from the cold
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This can be a problem as even though you may not be aware of your body's or the environment's temperature it can still cause you harm!
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It's also possible to be oversensitive to one temperature but not another.
What does over-sensitivity look like?
If you're over-sensitive to it you might feel cold or heat a lot more than other people.
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It can mean that you:
- wear too much or too little clothing
- get sunburned from not enough clothing or overheat due to too many clothes
- avoid showers and baths as the water and the temperature of the
room can be too hot or cold
- avoid going outside where the temperature is out of your control
What helps?
- having reminders to use sunscreen or wear clothing
- having thermometers or calendars and weather apps and trackers
- schedule heating so that way you don't have to think about it
- making sure that you wear protective clothing to prevent sunburn and frostbite
- do what feels comfortable to you