The human body has the ability to maintain its temperature
despite the changes of the surrounding temperature. Because of this
characteristic, humans are classified as warm-blooded. However our body
temperature varies in range depending on sex, age, time of the day, exertion
level, health status (such as illness and mensturation ), what part of the body
the measurement is taken at, state of consciousness ( sleeping, waking, sedated), and emotions. Human
body temperature is kept in normal range by thermoregulation in which
adjustment of temperature is triggered by the central nervous system.
Human body temperature on normal
condition is considered to be 37.0°C when measured orally, but this
normal value can fluctuate to 36.1°C when one just woke up in the morning to
higher value of 37.2°C just before bedtime in the evening.
Hypothermia occurs when one’s body
temperature drops to dangerously low levels. As a result the body temperature
decreases and at 28.5°C the afflicted person appears pale and might have
irregular heartbeat, unconsciousness normally occur when the body temperature
gets lower than 26.7°C. at these temperature respiration also slows and become
shallow resulting to decrease in the
delivery of oxygen to body tissues.
However no person always has exactly
the same temperature at every moment of the day. Temperature cycles regularly
up and down through the day controlled by the person’ circadian rhythm. Â
In addition to this
variation, our body fluctuates in response to the extremes of the surrounding.
Foristance when temperature rise, the body reacts by increasing blood flow to
the skin surface , taking the heat from within the body to the surface , this
means sweat. As the sweat evaporates the body cools down. Body temperature more
than 3.5°C above normal begin to interfere with bodily functions. Body
temperature above 41.1°C can cause hyperthermia which are several conditions
that occur when one’s heat regulation can’t handle the heat of the surrounding,
and it can cause permernent brain damage especially to children.