Why Do Your Hands Get Cold First?

Your body tries to keep its core, where the brain, heart and internal organs sit, at around 37°C. Blood carries that heat around the body, but blood flowing close to the skin easily loses heat to cold air. So when you sense the cold, the small blood vessels in your skin, especially in your hands and feet, narrow and less blood flows there.

Hands and feet are where this adjustment is especially large. Fingers and toes have many shortcut vessels that link arteries directly to veins; they open wide to release heat when it's hot and almost close when it's cold. On top of that, hands and feet have a large surface area for their volume and sit far from the heart, so they cool quickly. Less blood arrives and heat escapes easily, so they chill fast.

Many people worry that cold hands and feet mean something is wrong with their circulation. But when your hands and feet cool first in a cold place, it usually means your body is doing its job. A drop in core temperature is far more dangerous, so your body gives up a little warmth at your fingertips to protect the center.

That said, it's a different story if your fingers repeatedly turn white, then blue, then red in the cold or under stress. That has its own name, Raynaud's phenomenon, and it is looked at separately from the everyday cold hands most people get.

Surprisingly, one of the best ways to warm your hands is to warm your torso. Once your core feels warm enough, your body reopens the vessels in your hands and feet and sends blood back. That's why wrapping your neck and torso with a scarf, vest or hat, rather than only wearing gloves, can sometimes loosen up your fingertips faster. On the other hand, soaking just your hands in hot water may help for a moment, but if your torso stays cold they tend to chill again as soon as you step outside.

Drinking warm tea or swinging your arms in big circles on the spot helps too. Moving muscles produce heat, and as that heat warms your core, blood flow to your hands and feet picks up again.