Neurodivergence and the body's response to heat and cold

I’ve always preferred heat to cold. I never really understood why. Over time I’ve noticed that in summer, my body relaxes, and in winter, it tenses.

Someone recently shared that they feel heavy in the summer and light in the winter — and that really resonated with me. For me, that feeling of heaviness in the heat feels good. It makes me feel safe and grounded. When I’m cold, though, my body reacts as if I’m unsafe. I tense up and go into a kind of fight-or-flight response, and even when I consciously try to relax my body, I can’t seem to until I’m warm again.

In winter, I constantly need hot water bottles and heating. Just adding layers of clothing doesn’t help if I’ve already gotten cold — Warmth on the outside only works if the warmth reaches the inside of my body. And a hot shower or bath is often the only thing that can reach that inner cold and help me let go of the tension and relax again. I’ve realised this may be part of why my fibromyalgia pain is so much worse in winter than in summer.

Lately, I’ve been wondering if all of this is part of how my nervous system processes sensory input, including temperature — and how this ties into being neurodivergent. Many neurodivergent people experience the world through a heightened or altered sensory lens, and that includes how we feel things like heat and cold.

The connection between safety, temperature, and tension in the body feels important. And I wonder if it’s something others experience too.

How does your body respond to temperature? Does being warm or cold affect how safe or grounded you feel? Does prolonged heat or cold make you feel pain?