Have you ever noticed that your feet (or even part of your legs) stick out from under the blanket while you’re fast asleep? Do you sleep better with your feet outside the blanket?
Humans are warm-blooded creatures. That’s right. But what does being a warm-blooded animal mean?
This means that our bodies can generate heat on their own, even in the cold. Our body can not only withstand the cold, but also can endure many other types of weather such as hot, muggy, rainy, snowy, etc. Warm-blooded animals do not depend on the temperature of the environment. instead, they maintain their own body temperature. And quite the opposite is cold-blooded animals.
In other words, temperature plays a very important role in our existence. Of all the parts of the body, the feet are the part that determines our body temperature.
Why is that?
Humans in particular and warm-blooded animals in general have their own thermoregulation process. Thermoregulation is a process through which humans can maintain their body temperature at a certain threshold regardless of the ambient temperature. The state where the body temperature of a warm-blooded organism is at a normal level is called homeostasis. In a nutshell, thermoregulation is the body’s processes and mechanisms that ensure it is always in a state of homeostasis.
Thermoregulation is primarily based on the burning of energy, but there are a number of physical mechanisms involved, such as sweating, shivering, and blood circulation, all of which contribute to maintaining the temperature. maintain our body temperature.
The heart plays an important role in maintaining body temperature. Blood flows from the heart to organs and cells through arteries, and then back to the heart by veins.
Human circulatory system. (Photo: Science ABC).
When the ambient temperature is high (it’s hot), blood will circulate freely, the blood vessels dilate, allowing more blood to flow through them. On the other hand, when it is cold (low ambient temperature), the blood vessels constrict, thereby reducing the amount of blood circulating through them.
Many people still think that the head is the place that receives and releases the most heat in the body. However, reality is not always like that. As it turns out, the feet are where the body releases the most heat.
Feet not only help us perform most activities, but because feet are extremities, they help to release a lot of heat from the body.
First, the foot has a large surface area and has many distinctive blood vessels. These blood vessels can dilate very large, allowing a greater amount of blood to flow. As a result, heat from the body is released faster. When the temperature returns to normal, the blood vessels in the feet return to normal.
The foot belongs to the extremities of the body, so it doesn’t have many muscles on the inside. This means that the feet can cool down faster than other parts. At the same time, the feet are usually hairless, so the heat process is also faster.
The soles of the feet are large. (Photo: Science ABC)
If you’re still curious about the foot, it still has something inside called arteriovenous anastomosis , which connects arteries and veins before they split into capillaries. When the temperature is high, the junction between the two blood vessels expands and allows more blood to flow into the blood vessels.
Have you ever noticed that your feet (or even part of your legs) stick out from under the blanket while you’re fast asleep?
The reason is because when we sleep, our body gives off a lot of heat . This heat cannot escape because the blanket on you is blocked. So, to be able to maintain a normal body temperature and avoid overheating, your feet will automatically come out of the blanket to lower body temperature as a natural response of the body. Have you ever felt excited about this? In fact, many people find they sleep better when their feet are outside the blanket.
So be grateful for your little feet. Not only feet, all parts of our body have their own functions while you are sleeping soundly.