When it gets too hot, humans sweat, when it gets too cold, they shiver. How does the body regulate its internal temperature at those mild climates where a person can wear anything from a few layers to nothing at all without feeling a major shift in comfort level?
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There are a bunch of other thermoregulation tools available to your body:
* Brown fat cells are a type of fat cell that store fat not for energy storage, but so it can be burned when you get cold. They “turn on” when your body temperature drops, kind of like a bunch of tiny furnaces.
* Your body also regulates your level of movement and activity through feedback loops in your brain. When you’re overheated, you won’t want to move around much, and when you’re cold, you’ll twitch and rub your body vigorously and fidget and other small movements that burn extra energy.
* Heat loss can be regulated by causing blood vessels in your skin to dilate or contract. More blood flow carries heat more efficiently to the surface of your body, effectively reducing how much insulation your body has. This is why you go pale if you’re out in the cold for a long time and why you flush when you’re overheated.
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