What is thermo regulation?
What is thermo regulation?
What is thermoregulation? Thermoregulation is a process that allows your body to maintain its core internal temperature. All thermoregulation mechanisms are designed to return your body to homeostasis. This is a state of equilibrium.
A healthy internal body temperature falls within a narrow window. The average person has a baseline temperature between 98°F (37°C) and 100°F (37.8°C). Your body has some flexibility with temperature. However, if you get to the extremes of body temperature, it can affect your body’s ability to function. For example, if your body temperature falls to 95°F (35°C) or lower, you have “hypothermia.” This condition can potentially lead to cardiac arrest, brain damage, or even death. If your body temperature rises as high as 107.6°F (42 °C), you can suffer brain damage or even death.
Many factors can affect your body’s temperature, such as spending time in cold or hot weather conditions.
Factors that can raise your internal temperature include:
- fever
- exercise
- digestion
Factors that can lower your internal temperature include:
- drug use
- alcohol use
- metabolic conditions, such as an under-functioning thyroid gland
Your hypothalamus is a section of your brain that controls thermoregulation. When it senses your internal temperature becoming too low or high, it sends signals to your muscles, organs, glands, and nervous system. They respond in a variety of ways to help return your temperature to normal.
Thermoregulation is a process that allows your body to maintain its core internal temperature. All thermoregulation mechanisms are designed to return your body to homeostasis. This is a state of equilibrium.
A healthy internal body temperature falls within a narrow window. The average person has a baseline temperature between 98°F (37°C) and 100°F (37.8°C). Your body has some flexibility with temperature. However, if you get to the extremes of body temperature, it can affect your body’s ability to function. For example, if your body temperature falls to 95°F (35°C) or lower, you have “hypothermia.” This condition can potentially lead to cardiac arrest, brain damage, or even death. If your body temperature rises as high as 107.6°F (42 °C), you can suffer brain damage or even death.
Many factors can affect your body’s temperature, such as spending time in cold or hot weather conditions.
Factors that can raise your internal temperature include:
- fever
- exercise
- digestion
Factors that can lower your internal temperature include:
- drug use
- alcohol use
- metabolic conditions, such as an under-functioning thyroid gland
Your hypothalamus is a section of your brain that controls thermoregulation. When it senses your internal temperature becoming too low or high, it sends signals to your muscles, organs, glands, and nervous system. They respond in a variety of ways to help return your temperature to normal.
