Will the human body get warmer first, or colder first depending on the weather?

Question:

Like, if the weather outside is cold, how fast will the human body get cold, or if its warm, how fast will the human body get warmer? Which would happen first?

Answers:
Hi, technically the body can never get "cold". Let me explain. The body works through its cells, tissues and organs right down to the biochemical level in what is known as homeostasis - the maintenance of an internal cellular environment such that normal physiological bioprocesses can function at an optimum level. This involves keeping the pH and acidity, hydration and temperature, amongst other modalities at a normal range of values.

If the weather outside is cold, the body works as fast as possible to keep the internal environment as warm as before such that the bioprocesses can still function. Im not sure how fast is fast, but processes that help in raising the internal temperature are closing of sweat pores, redirecting of blood to the intestines and vital organs from the extremities etc. Autonomic responses are also sent to the brain and this results in shivering, the principle behind it being that the involuntary muscular contractions when you shiver would create some heat for the body. Also your piloerector muscles are stimulated, and your hairs stand on end to try to trap air. All these involuntary processes happen relatively fast.

When the weather outside is warm, then the body must find ways to avoid overheating of the internal environment. Thus what it does is it increase sweat pores, vasodilation to allow more blood to the cutaneous surfaces, such that more heat can be radiated out of the body, and there is increased sweating to cool the body down.

Hope this answers your question. :D

Other Answers:
Interesting question and you are probably going to get alot of mixed answers on this one-

The obvious answer is that you are a warm-blooded mammal and your body if working properly should regualte it's temperature within a couple degrees of normal (98.7 degrees).
However when the normal physiology of the body goes wrong, i.e. you have an infection, your body heats up to destroy the infection. When this happens you can actually heat up pretty fast, depending on the infection: within hours. At 106 degrees the proteins in the body start to break down and you will be in serious trouble fast.

On the other hand, when the body is working normally it is difficult to raise the body temperature. The human body is an amazing machine and it will do everything it can to avoid breakdown. Sweating, inducing thirst, vasodilation, etc. On the other hand, going from 98.7 to 106 is not a far jump, and if you are outside on a 100 degree day and not hydrating yourself this can happen in a matter of minutes. In fact just in the last week dozens of people have died due to the heat waves in the midwest and north east.

However, In the same healthy body exposed to cold, the body will do everything it can to stay warm, like shivering, vasoconstriction, etc. But the amount needed to drop to cause hypothermia is a little further, 90-95 degrees is mild hypothermia, severe hypothermia below 80 degrees. The only problem here is unlike every other mammal in the world humans do not have the natrual protection against the elements (fur, blubber, etc..) So when exposed to rain, wind, and cold temperatures we have little protection except for our clothes. Especially in the pediatric population, that are especially vulnerable to temp changes.

Bottom line my guess is a healthy person placed in the most extreme cold on the planet with no protection would drop their temperature alot faster than the same person placed in the hottest environment on the planet with no protection. That being said, ALOT more people die of HYPER thermia or heat stroke then hypothermia. I'd say 100:1. Also, people can often be brought back to life from a hypothermic state, but rarely from a hyperthermic state.

If I had to choose, i'd rather be in a warm environment unprotected then cold. But you would probably be in serious trouble either way if you were completely unprotected.
Good luck

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Will the human body get warmer first, or colder first depending on the weather?

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