What is the ideal room temperature for humans?

There really is no such thing as a perfect room temperature.

Official bodies such as the WHO and the Federal Environment Agency say the room temperature should be around 18 to 20 degrees.

"Of course it has to do with what you do in this room," objects Professor Georg Ertl.

"Are you moving in the room?

Do you sleep in it?

That has a significant impact on how cold you get,” says the internist from Würzburg, who is also Secretary General of the German Society for Internal Medicine (DGIM).

In addition, according to Ertl, bare numbers say little about when someone feels good.

Everyone has a so-called comfort temperature, and this can vary greatly from person to person.

Every couple knows that, and everyone who shares an office with someone knows it.

Or have you never had a fight about the open window?

Who is particularly at risk when it's cold?

Lucy Schmidt

Editor in the "Life" department of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.

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Jennifer Wiebking

Editor in the "Life" department of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.

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Elderly people have to be particularly careful when it's cold because their thermoregulation doesn't work as well and they often move less than young people.

You also have to take good care of babies and small children.

Since their skin surface is very large compared to their body volume, they lose heat quickly.

"In addition, there are some chronically ill people who should be particularly vigilant," says Mainz family doctor Marcel Schorrlepp.

“These include people with severe cardiovascular diseases and poorly treated high blood pressure.

People with lung diseases should also pay attention, because the lung function changes at low temperatures.” Ertl adds: “Angina pectoris, due to constricted coronary arteries, occurs more frequently in winter, just like heart attacks.”

What happens in the body when it's cold?

"People have a very sensitive thermoregulation," says internist Georg Ertl.

"If the body temperature deviates from around 37 degrees, the organism quickly begins to take countermeasures." It does this by boosting the metabolism to generate heat.

To do this, he sets the muscles in motion, which we perceive as trembling and gnashing of teeth.

If that is not enough, the body begins to “warm up the areas that are particularly important, i.e. the internal organs and the head”.

That's why our feet and hands always get cold first: "The body restricts blood circulation in these areas so that too much heat is not released." If the body temperature drops too much, then we can no longer concentrate well.

"Because the blood vessels contract when it's cold, blood pressure also rises and lung function deteriorates,"

How does cold damage show up on the body?

Let's get straight to the point: A heater that is turned down a few degrees does not cause any damage from the cold.

Of course, these only occur if you are not well protected from ice and snow or if you are exposed to extreme cold for longer than expected.

Frostbite on the body can be recognized when the affected area of ​​skin looks pale or has a gray-white to yellow-white discoloration.

The skin also becomes numb and hard.

Later, when the frostbite is more serious, blisters can also form in the affected areas – similar to a burn.

In the case of frostbite, it is important to warm up the part of the body very slowly and carefully and not to hold it directly under warm water.

If the frostbite is more severe - the numbness persists even after warming up or pain develops - you should seek medical advice.