Buzz
Reader PartiallyDeflected asked, “Given that our body temperature is around 98 degrees, why do we feel hot when it’s only 90?”
Everything your body does, from physical actions like muscle contractions to chemical processes such as certain stages of digestion, generates heat as a byproduct. This heat is constantly produced and lost to the environment. The hypothalamus, a small almond-sized part of the brain, functions as the body’s thermostat, working to keep the heat produced and lost in balance to maintain a normal body temperature.
Usually, this balance is easy to achieve. Heat naturally moves towards equilibrium, where all things are at the same temperature. This is why a bowl of hot soup and a glass of ice water will both eventually reach room temperature if left out. Typically, the environment is cooler than your body, so your thermostat can release excess heat into the surroundings via thermoregulatory processes like sweating (where heat is lost through evaporation) and increasing blood flow to capillaries near the skin surface (where heat dissipates through radiation, convection, and conduction).
When there's a significant temperature gap between your body and the environment, heat escapes from your body and into the air quickly, helping you cool down fast. However, if the environment is warmer and closer to your body temperature, heat transfer via radiation, convection, and conduction is slower and less efficient. This means you hold onto excess heat for longer, feeling hot and uncomfortable. If the ambient temperature exceeds your body temperature, heat will flow into you as the body seeks equilibrium. In hot and dry conditions, your body increases sweating to expel more heat through evaporation. But in hot and humid conditions, sweat struggles to evaporate due to the moisture in the air, making you feel unbearably hot and clammy.
If you spend too much time in an environment where the heat you're producing or absorbing exceeds what you're losing, your core temperature will rise, potentially leading to heat-related illnesses.
