The Irish Times cites a study conducted at the University of Southampton and reports that nostalgia changes the perception of warmth and cold.
The scientists have involved volunteers, who had to monitor the emergence of the sense of nostalgia for a month. The study shows that most people tend to feel nostalgic when they are cold. The second part of the study took place in three rooms: in a cool room where the temperature was 20 degrees, in a room with the middle temperature (24 degrees), and in a heated room with the temperature of 28 degrees. In the cool room, nostalgia revealed itself better than in others. Thus, when a person was asked to recollect some memories, he/she began to think that the room temperature was rising.
The third part of the experiment was associated with music. If a song made people nostalgic, they began to feel warmer. The fourth test helped the scientists see how long people could keep a hand in a container with icy water. Again, the sense of nostalgia came back to work as an internal heat generator, helping to bear the cold water longer.
The experts explain this effect saying that the sense of peace of mind can affect the sense of physical comfort. In addition, earlier studies from the University of Southampton showed that nostalgia is an effective way to deal with loneliness.
