Our bodies are on average 98.6°, right? Why do we sweat profusely and dislike hot temperatures? Wouldn’t our bodies have to work less and use less energy to keep an internal temperature of 98.6°?
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We are constantly generating and shedding heat to maintain 98ish.
When the ambient temperature is at or above 98, it becomes much more difficult for us to shed heat to maintain 98. If your body doesn’t do anything about it, heat will start to build up in the body. Especially because that’s an internal temp, your skin is cooler so you start struggling to radiate away heat even lower than 98, but most people really start to struggle somewhere in that 98-100 zone.
The more difficult it is to shed, the more your body does to try and shed it. Sweating, changes in respiration to get more heat out that way, changes in circulation, maybe getting a little lethargic to try and slow down how much heat is generated in the first place.
This is also why things like wind, humidity and shade makes such a difference to how a given bient temperature feels. Water in the air changes the rate of heat exchange and how effective sweat is. Wind improves the shedding rate and helps evaporate sweat. Direct sun adds heat on top of what is in the air directly to your skin. All that stuff.
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