ELI5- Why do our bodies perceive ambient temperatures with pain? Like the cold hurts

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So I want to understand why exactly our bodies say the outside cold hurts and why the hot temperatures feel nice up to an extent then it hurts but also just feels more uncomfortable. I understand the direct touch aspect but not ambient.
So I understand the evolutionary need for it but I want to know the science. What is going on in your body that makes the cold hurt

In: Chemistry

6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Pain (and other uncomfortable feelings) evolved because they are useful to motivate behaviour that helps us survive.

Enough cold or heat is dangerous to our health. Making cold or hot enough temperatures unpleasant is a way for our bodies to motivate us to do something to fix it (seek shelter or shade, huddle together for warmth, get in water to cool off, etc).

If the temperatures weren’t uncomfortable, you might just keep going till you got heatstroke or hypothermia.

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