Jonathan Drummey LMT, SEP

I’m a sucker for studies that link culture, psychology, and the body, and a recent study on women, anger, and cold feet hits the trifecta:

• Great summary article: Study links anger to cold feet
• Full text: Relationship between gender role, anger expression, thermal discomfort and sleep onset latency in women

My clinical experience agrees with the findings of this study. And personally, I strongly resonate as well: I’ve suffered from cold feet and hands for much of my adolescent and adult life, regularly had sleep onset latency, and have spent years working on issues of assertion, aggression, and anger. When I’m centered, grounded, and present to my emotions and reactions, my extremities are warm and I’m able to fall asleep easily. When I’m stressed and withholding, I run cold and falling asleep – especially falling back asleep after my daughter wakes up in the night – can be extremely difficult.

In her summary article, Lisa Barger asks whether this research holds true for men as well. Obviously I think it does, though I imagine that proportionally fewer men have these symptoms since there are more societally accepted ways for men to turn their anger outward.