It's long been thought that women feel the cold more than men.

But a new study suggests otherwise – as it found ladies' heat conservation mechanisms actually kick in at a lower temperature compared to their male peers.

Researchers recruited 28 young, healthy, lean volunteers for their study, of which 16 were women and 12 were men.

The team took a range of measures while the participants were exposed to temperatures ranging from 17C to 31C.

As part of the study, they also calculated the 'lower critical temperature' of each person.

It's long been thought that women feel the cold more than men. But a new study suggests otherwise – as it found ladies' heat conservation mechanisms actually kick in at a lower temperature compared to their male peers (stock image)

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This is the minimum temperature that can be tolerated before the body needs to 'react' to keep a person warm.

Analysis revealed that while men started to expend energy to keep warm at around 23C, this occurred at closer to 22C in women.

The scientists also found that women were better able to maintain their core body temperature as their environment got cooler, and had better insulation against the cold.

The researchers, from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, said women may have more protection against the cold as they tend to have more body fat than men.

Writing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) they said: 'Conventionally, women are perceived to feel colder than men, but controlled comparisons are scarce.

The scientists  found that women were better able to maintain their core body temperature as their environment got cooler, and had better insulation against the cold (stock image)

'We found that women had a cooler lower critical temperature, resembling an 'arctic' shift compared to men.

'The more arctic profile of women was predominantly driven by higher insulation associated with more body fat compared to men.'

Despite this, there was no significant difference between the coldest tolerable temperature reported for men and women in the study.

There was also no significant difference in the amount of shivering or reported thermal comfort as the temperature dropped.