AND YOU THOUGHT THE SCIENCE WAS SETTLED: Normal Body Temperature Is Surprisingly Less Than 98.6. “There is no baseline for humans, and even if there was, it would be closer to 97.7 °F. Temperature also varies across the day, peaking in late afternoon and bottoming out in early morning. It is slightly higher for women than for men as well. For two decades research has debunked the benchmark, set way back in 1868, yet it persists.”