Lessons from OBS- Temperature Regulation

Our body regulates our temperature by sweating, shivering, skin capillaries and hair.

When we get too hot, our body does the following

• Sweat glands in the skin release more sweat. This evaporates, removing heat energy from the skin.
• Blood vessels to the skin become wider. They dilate allowing more blood to flow through the skin and more sweat to be lost. 
• The hairs on our skin lie flat when we are warm. 

Here is a diagram that illustrates how the hairs on our body behave when we are warm.

When we get too cold, our body does the following

• We shiver as our muscles contract rapidly. These contractions need energy for respiration and heat is given out.
• Blood vessels leading to the skin's capillaries become narrower, they constrict, letting less blood flow through the body and conserving heat. 
• The hairs on our skin rise up. They trap a layer of air above the skin which insulates our body from the cold 

Here is a diagram that illustrates how the hairs on our body behave when we are cold. 

Source:  BBC GSCE Bitesize