Why do we perspire?
We perspire to maintain to keep the temperature of our internal
thermostat set to an average, normal temperature of 98.6 degrees
Fahrenheit. Our bodies come fully equipped with a temperature center
in the brain, which consists of a control center, a heating center,
and a cooling center.
Our bodies use approximately 2,500 calories of our daily intake of
calorie-laden food to fuel the body. This process, known as oxidation,
burns the calories, producing enough heat to bring 25 quarts of water
to the boiling point. Obviously, our bodies cannot tolerate this heat,
which causes the temperature of the blood to rise dramatically, and
the cooling center to springs into action.
The cooling center slows the calorie burning process, and dilates, or
opens, the blood vessels in the skin to release the excess heat, and
the fluid known as perspiration. The release of this fluid cleanses
the body, as it pours through our pores, which consist of millions of
tiny openings in the skin. Perspiration emerges on the surface of the
skin in the form of tiny, microscopic droplets, which quickly
evaporate, and cool the body to its normal temperature.
Evaporation of perspiration on humid days slows, and requires the
assistance of manmade inventions, such as fans and air conditioners,
to carry away the moist air, so our perspiration evaporates, and so
our internal thermostat returns to it's normal setting of 98.6 degrees
Fahrenheit. Apparently, our cooling center is not self-sufficient!
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