Heat regulation: How your body keeps you from getting too hot
Monday, June 8th, 2009by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.
Summertime comes with lots of tips on how to stay cool. But for you how-stuff-works buffs out there, here’s the science behind why those tips work.
First, some basics on your body and heat.
- Heat is energy and is generated. Cold is not generated, but is the absence of heat.
- Your body generates heat from metabolism even while you’re at rest (called the basic metabolic rate or BMR). In fact, it usually creates more than you need. Mechanisms explained below regulate you around 98.6 F.
- You generate as much as three to six times more heat with exercise.
- Just resting in the hot sun can increase your BMR 50 percent more than resting in the shade.
- Stimulant drugs like amphetamines and cocaine also cause you to generate more heat.
Now, here are the whys behind some of the dos.
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