How is core body temperature regulated?
How is temperature regulation or thermoregulation of the human body achieved? The control center for body temperature lies in the brain and it is called the hypothalamus. When we are in colder and lower temperature surroundings, the temperature of the body starts going down, due to the higher rate at which heat is radiated from the body. In such conditions, the hypothalamus gets alerted and it reduces blood flow towards the external layers of skin and directs it more towards the internal organs, whose functioning needs to be sustained. This is achieved by the constriction of blood vessels that carry blood to external layers of skin. Also, the hypothalamus triggers shivering which is actually our body’s way of generating heat to counter the cold. The hypothalamus initiates an exactly opposite action when the environmental temperature goes high above the maximum core body temperature. It directs the blood flow more towards the skin than the internal organs, so that more heat is radiated
