Your body can control its own temperature. Sizzling heat turns on the body’s air conditioning system. Frigid temperatures trigger the body to turn up the heat. No matter how scorching or chilly it gets outside, our bodies have great climate control.
The brain’s hypothalamus regulates body temperature. If it senses your body getting too hot, it sends out a message for help. The muscles, organs, glands, and nervous system answer the call. They work to keep the body just right—between 98 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
A thermostat is a switch that keeps temperatures steady. It turns heat on and off. Your body has something even better than a thermostat. It has thermoregulation. Thermoregulation balances the body’s chemicals and hormones. It asks the organs to kick in to keep the internal temperature safe. It makes sure the body has enough fluids. It changes the size of blood vessels. Large vessels cool the body. Small ones heat it up.
Have you ever felt too hot? Fever can raise body temperature. If someone gets an infection, the hypothalamus resets the body to a higher temperature. This helps the body fight off germs. A fever causes blood vessels to narrow. This pulls more heat inside the body and raises the temperature.
Too hot? Cool down. When temperature rises, blood paths to the skin widen. This allows blood to rush quickly to the skin. The extra blood flow lets heat escape through the skin in the form of a liquid. Do you know what the liquid is called? You bet—sweat! First, liquid sweat pours from pores. It quickly turns to a gas and evaporates. This process cools an overheated body.
Too cold? Get moving! Exercise raises body temperature. Shake, stomp, or run around. Movement makes heat. During exercise, muscles burn body fuels like fat and carbohydrates. This creates energy for muscles. As muscles work hard, the blood inside them warms up. The more work muscles do, the more heat they make. Did you know that if you are cold and you don’t move to stay warm, your body will do it for you? Shivering is when your muscles are clenching then expanding rapidly to generate heat in your body. Exercising in heat also raises body temperature. It’s a double-whammy! A hot day makes hard exercise a big challenge for thermoregulation.
Our bodies were created to keep a healthy temperature. Our internal “climate control” keeps our temperature safe while we use our bodies for God’s glory.
