Why do people in such a cold environment do the paradoxical act of taking off their clothes?
In fact, this is a very “paradoxical” phenomenon that has been recognized by science. It’s called Hypothermia Undressing .
If anyone has ever seen the 2015 movie Everest, they will have seen in it a very strange scene: when Andy’s character is stuck on a cold mountain top and is in danger of freezing to death, he … take off your clothes. This is an example of Hypothermia Undressing.
This phenomenon occurs when the body temperature drops to a dangerous level (below 35 degrees Celsius) , the victim will suddenly remove all his clothes, while what they need to do is the exact opposite. In fact, rescue teams around the world have also recorded many similar cases, when the victims died of cold in the state of having no cloth to cover their bodies, or wearing very little clothes.
The victim of freezing to death had the phenomenon of taking off all his clothes. (Pictured).
At first, the police considered such deaths as murders, but most of them could not find the culprit. It was not until scientists took action that the mystery was revealed with 2 popular theories as follows:
The first hypothesis is that this phenomenon is a consequence of Peripheral Vasoconstriction. In the bone-chilling cold, the body constricts the blood vessels in the extremities to bring blood to the trunk, in order to keep the internal temperature as high as possible. Thanks to this mechanism, vital organs such as the brain, lungs, etc. will be less damaged by cold air, and thus the chances of survival will be higher.
However, when the body reaches a point where the body can no longer resist, the muscle fibers will relax, causing the blood vessels to reopen to their original state. A large amount of blood flows from the main body to the limbs and causes the victim to feel hot suddenly. Experts believe it was this immediate sensation that caused the victims to jump up and take off their clothes, and eventually die from heat loss.
The second theory is related to the brain , which suggests that low temperatures have disrupted the function of the hypothalamus – the center that regulates body temperature. When the body temperature drops too low, the hypothalamus sends a deadly false signal to the entire body that “It’s hot in here” – when it’s not.
However, it all just stops at a hypothesis, because Hypothermia Undressing is often accompanied by another equally strange phenomenon: Victims bury themselves in the snow or burrow into narrow places such as under the car. small rock crevices. In case of death in the house, they hide behind the wardrobe, under the desk drawer…
There has not been a completely valid and convincing conclusion for this strange phenomenon. Scientists will continue to search and the answer will surely appear in the nearest day.