Why does a small increase in body temperature of 1degree put us into a fever state while we can adapt to higher temperatures on hotter days?
In: Biology
Okay, so here is my ELI5:
Your body has a thermostat, just like your home does. It is pretty reliable, plus or minus a degree (actually less). Sometimes your body turns that thermostat up because it needs to fight off attackers.
But most of the time, it’s just chilling at about 36-37°C.
Just like your thermostat, it’s not just checking the temperature, it’s affecting other things.
In fact, your thermostat in your house is connected to two or three devices. Your body’s thermostat is connected to way more than that.
It can move blood towards or away from the core. Away from the core causes more heat to be given off. Towards the core conserves heat.
It can increase metabolism. Metabolism increases temperature. This is what shivering is. A way to increase metabolism through muscle movements that increases body temperature.
You also have some more active ways to increase temperature. You will often unknowingly do things like rub your hands together. You will close your arms around your body. You will move your feet.
There are some animals that even have “brown fat” which are little heaters throughout the fat that keep them warm even when their metabolism of their whole body is really, really low (like hibernation).
The body also has air conditioning. This is what sweat is. You can sweat a lot, and not realize it. Evaporating water is a great method of getting rid of heat, like AC. In fact, it kinda works in a very similar process.
Those are the main ones. I’m sure I’ve missed some.
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