Feeling cold all the time may be a sign of a longer life. At least this is the previous conclusion from a recent study at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, which tried to find a link between a lower core body temperature and a longer lifespan.

The scientists discovered that the low consume of calories by mice and rats lowered its core body temperatures and made them live significantly longer than the animals which received the standard food quantity. This might be associated with hormonal changes responsible to conserve heat and energy, by slowing down metabolism.

The investigators also analyzed body temperatures of 24 people aged 50-60 who has practiced at least 6 years of calories restricted diet with people at the same age who ate the standard western diet (fat intake and higher calories) and 24 endurance runners. They wanted to determine if being lean had any connection to the body temperature or if calorie restriction itself was necessary. Those who have done calories restriction diets had the lowest core temperatures, while endurance athletes hadn’t.

The next step of the research is to find out how much longer people with lower body temperatures live. Up to now, it is known that people with calories restriction live up to 50% longer, but the increases have to be measured in months. Researchers are also trying to work out what it the factor near starvation that extends life. They expect to create a pill that simulates the process in the organism without big changes to the diet.