THAT'S THE WHY:Now that the sun is starting to make an appearance, more of us are likely to test our mettle with a sea plunge. But as anyone knows who has dipped a toe into the waters that lap our shores, warm it ain't.
And as you totter in tentatively beyond the paddling zone, there comes a point – usually when the water level starts to reach the torso – where the prospect of turning tail and heading back to the comfort of the sand dune and a good novel becomes almost overwhelming.
So why does the water feel particularly cold against our dry tummies? It's a question that exercised readers of New Scientistmagazine's Last Wordcolumn, who suggested that the answer to this point of acute discomfort lies in the relative warmth of the torso compared with the limbs, which tend to run a little colder.
As we wade into the sea, the temperature difference between our limbs and the water is less than the temperature difference between our tummies and the water, making for more of a shock when the waves hit the midriff, according to the wise readers.
That said, the editor also noted that many male readers had suggested the worst shock can arise a little south of the torso, so perhaps areas of the body that are richly endowed with sensory nerves may also be highly alarmed by sudden exposure to cold water.
– CLAIRE O’CONNELL
