Our body has the ability to self-regulate its temperature

• April 25, 2024

The body temperature it is the degree of heat of a living organism; results from the balance between production and loss of it. 85% of the body heat it is lost through the skin and the rest through the lungs andfecal elimination Y urinary

In humans, the body temperature is extraordinarily constant, maintained by a circadian rhythm and may vary around 0.6 degrees day after day (except in cases of illness (fever ).

Usually the degrees of heat in a person they vary depending on their sex, its recent activity, the consumption of food and liquids , the time of day and, in the case of women, the phase of menstrual cycle where they are. According to the American Medical Association, normal body temperature can range from 36.5 ° C and 37.2 ° C.

The body temperature can be modified by different factors.

1. Age. The newborn it presents regulatory problems due to its immaturity, in such a way that external changes affect it a lot. At old man It is usually diminished (36 ° C to 35 ° C )
2. The hour of the day. Throughout the day the variations tend to be less than 1.5 ° C . The maximum temperature of the organism is reached between 18 and 22 hours and the minimum between 2 and 4 hours. East circadian rhythm is very constant and is maintained even in patients with fever
3. The sex In women during second half of the cycle , from ovulation to menstruation, it can rise between 0.3 to 0.5 ° C
4. The physical exercise . Muscular activity increases it transiently
5. Stress. Intense emotions such as anger wave go to activate the autonomic nervous system can increase it
6. The pharmacological treatments
7. The diseases
8. The room temperature and the clothes that you wear
9. The recent food intake hot or cold, having smoked a cigarette, drinking alcoholic beverages the application of an enema and the humidity of the armpit or its friction (for example when drying it)

The function of the cells that make up each of our bodies it is optimal at a certain temperature and that is why the body itself ensures that its temperature remains constant; when it increases or decreases, they come into actiondifferent mechanisms (like sweating, urinating, defecating, to name a few), to regulate it.

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