Normally, our body temperature should always be 98.6 degrees
Fahrenheit. That is when the body temperature is stable.
Have you ever wondered how the body temperature remains
constant in all types of weather conditions? That is, the temperature is very
low in rainy and snowy seasons, but our body temperature remains constant.
During the hot season, our body temperature does not increase
due to the increase in the weather, but it remains constant. Even if we go to
the snowy polar region or the hot desert region and stay for months, there is
no change in the body temperature.
The body temperature increases only when we are unwell and
have a fever. When we are normal, the body temperature remains constant. There
is no change in the body temperature in any season or place.
Doctors say that a change in body temperature is the first
sign of illness. Our body can withstand temperatures of approximately 95 to 104
degrees Fahrenheit. Since life is impossible beyond this temperature, we can
only withstand that temperature.
The skin of the body, as a shield that protects the internal
organs of our body, is responsible for maintaining a balanced body temperature.
Waste products are eliminated from the body by sweating through the skin.
When sweat evaporates from the outer skin, it absorbs the
heat required to become vapour from the body. This removes excess heat and cools
the body. Although sweating should come as a liquid, it can also come out as a
vapour.
Sweating is a continuous process, just like breathing. A
litre or more of sweat is lost through the skin through evaporation. The excess
heat generated by the digestion of food is thus reduced and the body's thermal
balance is maintained
When heat rays hit the
body, the body's thermal energy increases. This attack is continuously recorded
by the nerves ending in the skin. When the internal parts of the body are also
warmed by the attack of heat radiation, the hypothalamus in the brain is
stimulated.
The sweat glands in the skin are stimulated to sweat, thereby
relieving the excess heat gained by the body. There are about 2500 pores in one
square inch of skin.
When one litre of sweat is released, 540 calories of heat are
lost. We sweat very little during cold weather. During those times, the body
temperature is lower and the skin maintains the body's temperature by secreting
less sweat.