The human body is a strange and fascinating piece of machinery. It keeps us moving, safe, protected, and can even heal us when we get hurt, all on its own. For the most part, our bodies do a great job of protecting themselves and maintaining themselves, even when we’re not focusing on taking great care of ourselves. We even have ways to regulate our sleep in the form of circadian rhythm, which doesn’t develop until after the first two months of life. Here are just a few strange and unusual ways humans have adapted to have our bodies regulate themselves.
- Sweating: Believe it or not, that annoying and occasionally embarrassing thing your body does when you’re working out actually serves a purpose. The average person has two to four million sweat glands working as the body’s coolant system to protect it from overheating. When your sweat evaporates, it helps to cool you off, keeping you from causing damage to your body from overheating.
- Blood: Some of your body’s best lines of defense lie beneath the skin. When exposed to certain stimuli, such as temperature changes, certain bacteria, and other factors, your body will expand or contract blood vessels to move more or less blood around your body. This helps keep you warm in cold weather and explains why you get rosy cheeks in the winter.
- Acidity: Your body is very careful about this form of self-regulating. The pH level of blood is almost always exactly 7.4, give or take a very, very small amount. Your body keeps your blood this pH constantly in order to protect your organs and other parts of your body. It manages this mainly through one simple task: breathing. Exhaling CO2 keeps your blood pH exactly where it should be.
- Heat Transfer: Ever wonder why it’s so refreshing to jump into a cold pool when it’s hot outside? The amount of heat dissipated from the body nearly 26 times greater when in water as compared to air of a similar temperature. In order to prevent overheating, your body can release heat into the surrounding environment to cool you off.
The human body is incredibly skilled at regulating itself, so don’t worry too much if you push it a little bit hard. But it’s always a good idea to visit your doctor if something feels off. You don’t want to be one of the 710,000 flu-related hospital visitors because you pushed yourself too hard! Usually, your body can rebound on its own fairly well.
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