We feel warm/ hot because we are warm-blooded creatures.
All higher animals have mechanisms for maintaining their body temperature, a process known as "thermoregulation." Temperature control is critical to survival. An animal that can't cool itself will overheat and suffer from heat stroke, a potentially fatal condition. The reverse is true as well; an animal that can't keep itself warm can freeze to death. As a human being, the cleverest of all species, your body has several means of cooling itself not available to the rest of the animal kingdom.
Sweating
Sweating may feel hot and sticky, but it is actually your body's main biological mechanism for cooling itself. As perspiration evaporates from your skin it absorbs a large amount of heat from your body in the process of turning from a liquid to a gas. You become sweaty on a hot day or when you exercise for the same reason: you've accumulated excess heat that you need to get rid of. Your body contains several million sweat glands that automatically regulate when and how much you sweat. The more your body needs to cool down, the more profusely you'll sweat. Humid air makes it more difficult for your sweat to evaporate, which is why you feel uncomfortably hot on muggy days.
Physical Cooling
Your body also loses heat through the same physical mechanisms whereby any hot object dispels heat. You radiate body heat into a cooler environment in much the same way a hot oven radiates heat into the kitchen; your body can increase radiation heat loss by increasing blood flow to the skin. Moving air or water carries away body heat through a process called "convection." You also lose some heat through "conduction." For example, if you lean against a cool wall, your body transfers some of its own heat to the wall.
Relocation
Animals can cool themselves by moving to a cooler spot in their environment. For example, a fish in overly hot water will follow a temperature gradient to cooler water. Humans also use this strategy, but we generally have more options available than other animals. We can put up a sun umbrella, jump into a swimming pool or find a cool movie theater in order to keep our body temperature under control.
Technological Cooling
As a member of the human race, you also have technological options for keeping cool that are not available to other species. You're the only animal with the option of rapidly removing layers of insulation -- your clothing -- to increase the flow of heat away from your body. You can also turn on a fan or an air conditioner to cool down, or even crank open the car window to create a cooling wind.
When you exercise, your body needs to produce energy to feed your muscles and kick off metabolic processes that keep you going. The harder you work, the more energy you produce, which increases your body temperature. Your body has natural processes that work to manage core temperature, but it's impossible to avoid some increase during strenuous physical exercise.
Temperature During Exercise
How warm your body becomes during exercise largely depends on how hard it's working. If you're sprinting, you'll produce more energy and heat than if you're out for a light jog. When you're not exercising, your average temperature will hover between 97.7 and 99.5 degrees. During intense exercise, your temperature can easily spike to 104 degrees or higher, according to the University of New Mexico.
Mechanism
Because your muscles fire more during intense exercise than during leisurely pursuits, core temperature spikes when your muscles contract quickly. Since the human body is only 25 percent efficient, most of the heat produced as a result of your increased metabolism will be lost to the surrounding environment, but what stays behind can make a hotter, more stressful core environment for your nervous system.
Cooling Process
The hypothalamus is the part of the brain charged with monitoring and managing core body temperature. If your body temperature increases, the hypothalamus responds by attempting to cool you down. One of the most efficient ways to disperse heat is through evaporation. To do this, your body kicks off a sweat response by dilating blood vessels and warming the surface of your skin. This is why remaining hydrated is so important during intense exercise, especially if you're working out in hot weather.
Dangers
If your nervous system is unable to regulate your body temperature at a safe level, you could be hit with some heat-related illnesses. These illnesses range from minor heat cramps and rashes to severe cases of dehydration, heat exhaustion and heatstroke. Understanding the warning signs of these dangerous conditions is your first line of defense. If you experience headache, weakness, nausea, dizziness or confusion during exercises, especially in the heat, stop, rest and rehydrate.
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Is It Harder to Burn Fat During the Winter From Not Sweating?
Exercising outdoors can be rewarding, challenging and invigorating, but it also places you at the mercy of the ambient temperature. In winter, your body has to work but in a different manner than in summer by maintaining a consistent temperature that also prevents damage caused by freezing cold. This is accomplished without the temperature regulation of sweating that's so effective in keeping the summer body cool. Burning fat when exercising in the winter may be more difficult than in the summer, but several factors can change the outcome.
Sweating
Although sweating serves to cool down your body temperature when you're exercising in warmer temperatures, it can be dangerous in the winter. The same cooling effect that occurs in the heat can be triggered when wearing clothing in the winter that insulates your body. Stopping in the midst of a winter jog can cause the sweat to make your skin cool down too much, posing a threat of frostbite or cooling your body to the point where you shiver. ACE Fitness explains, in their online publication "Do I Burn More Calories When It Is Hot Outside Or Cold?" that shivering is a sign that your body's temperature is too low.
Temperature Regulation
Sweating is your body's primary way of regulating temperature, also known as thermoregulation. Physiologist Len Kravitz, PhD. of the University of New Mexico explains in their online publication "Thermoregulation" that this process occurs whenever you exercise, regardless of other factors. Your body's 2.6 million sweat glands, he continues, are stimulated by the hypothalamus gland when your core temperature increases. This increase can occur in summer or winter, since it's mediated internally, not externally.
Winter Exercise
Winter exercise poses challenges to your body's ability to cool itself, especially if you wear warm clothing. Instead of a single heavy layer of clothing, the Mayo Clinic explains in their online guide "Exercise and Cold Weather" that wearing multiple layers of clothing can enable you to prevent sweating that can make you colder. ACE Fitness explains, however, that the shivering that occurs when you sweat in winter weather encourages you to burn more fat than if you don't shiver.
Burning Fat
Fat burning appears to be more effective when you exercise in warm weather rather than cold weather. This, explains ACE Fitness, is because your body works harder to cool you down than it does to keep you warm. The exception to this rule is if your body shivers when you're exercising in winter, leading to an increase in metabolism. Despite the disparity in fat burning, exercising in winter can be an effective way to stay fit in the months when it often seems easier not to venture outdoors. Wearing layers that are easily shed to prevent sweating can help you enjoy the outdoors without falling victim to the elements.
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