Now It's Scientific: Why Do Men Complain More When in Pain?

Winter is approaching, and women are on edge. 'What will it be this time? Again he can't function, and I have to do everything at home? Unbelievable. It's just a little headache.' On one hand, you are right. On the other hand, when it comes to pain, men are essentially different from you. Why? Well, researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA, sought to investigate this research question. More than 500 men experiencing various levels and types of physical pain were examined, and the conclusion they reached is not particularly comforting. 

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It turns out that the phenomenon of men complaining about every little headache has a scientific explanation, which is related to levels of estrogen (a female hormone) precisely. The study showed that a man tends to present himself as 'miserable' and 'helpless' when the fever rises a degree or two above average because the estrogen hormone, present in high levels in women, has an antiviral effect that also protects them from 'emotional' side effects of the illness. 

What does all this mean? Well, a virus that manages to penetrate the body replicates itself in the host cell, and the more cloned cells it produces, the more severe the illness becomes. The estrogen hormone significantly suppresses the replication of viral cells, meaning that we feel the pain less than men.