Weather and Health
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Humans survive in the extreme cold of the polar region and the hot and humid conditions of the equatorial tropics. Despite the climatic variety of the habitats we occupy, our core body temperature remains at approximately 36.90C.
This is achieved with the help of the body’s thermostat, the hypothalamus. It is located in the center of the brain at the top of the brain stem, and also controls your behavior, the metabolic process, emotions, and the involuntary or autonomic nervous system.
As with all of our other body parts, this gland is not perfect – an accident, stroke, disease or tumor can impair its function. When we are born, the hypothalamus isn’t fully developed and its functions degenerate with age, so that the very young, the elderly and people with a disease affecting the hypothalamus are particularly vulnerable to temperature extremes.
Heat disorders develop when the body’s temperature regulation system is insufficient to keep your body temperature at its normal level. A body temperature rise above 41°C causes weakness or exhaustion. A further rise to levels above 42.5°C may result in serious health problems or even death.
The sun’s heat radiation is the basis for life on this planet. Without it, none would exist. Solar radiant heat, either direct or reflected, warms your body. To a degree, your body generates some of its own heat – through its metabolism. Last night’s steak is still ‘warming’ your body and just reading this paragraph creates heat in your brain. The muscles create heat, even while sitting still, but exercise or hard work generates up to twenty times more. As with everything else though, you can have too much of a good thing.
When the temperature rises too much, discomfort and illness develop. Heat-
Heat and Health
