Why aren’t we more energetic when it’s very hot outside? Shouldn’t we have more energy because we don’t have to waste it on heating our bodies up?
In: Biology
Unless it’s very cold, we aren’t really “wasting” energy to warm ourselves up. The energy we’re expending to do other things (move, think, digest, etc.) produces heat as a by-product. This is why we shiver when cold; that extra muscle activity produces a bit more heat so it warms you up. Ordinarily though, there isn’t a mechanism in the body that is expending energy just to keep us warm like central heating in a house.
When it’s hot out we actually have to expend energy *to keep cool*, and we’re less energetic because activity can more easily cause us to overheat.
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