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
Just because it’s a different termperature outside, doesn’t mean its different inside. Your inside temperature is relatively constant, no matter what the outside temperature is, thanks to tens of different mechanisms your body has to either increase temperature production, or decrease it, to compensate for outside temperature. So, if the outside temperature is too warm, the body will start sweating and reduce temperature production, among other things, all of which will make it not heat up. These compensatory mechanisms work both ways.
In addition to that, your outside is actually pretty-well insulated. You have clothes, that from closed packets of air, that act as an insulator from the outside environment.
Even when you’re naked, the air around your body is no the same as air 2 meters from it. The air closer to you will have temperature closer to your body, as opposed to air far away from you, which will have the temperature of an actual environment. This forms another layer of insulation – a layer which is broken when you move, or air moves – which is why a fan blowing air of 28 degrees will feel cooler than if you sit at 24 degrees, without air movement, since the fan will destroy that insulated layer, such that your 37 degree body will always be in contact with 28 degree air, as opposed to if the air didn’t move, and it would just be the same air, already warmed up by your body (which would mean your 37 degree body contact 37 degree air)
All of the above mechanisms ensure your inside temperature is constant, despite the flactuations in the environment.
When your body temperature rises, that’s a whole different process. And it’s destructive for many, many reasons, too long to write here.
So what you really should understand is, that despite fluctuations in outside temperature, mechanism are in place to ensure your body temperature stays the same. When you have a fever, your body temperature actually changes
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