Exercise in the heat: The science of thermoregulation.
As the heat really turns up this month we’re going to take a closer look at some behavioral strategies, physiological processes, and anatomical features that help us regulate our body temperature. As humans, we are what is called an endotherm which means that we regulate our body temperature internally to maintain a steady 98.6(ish) degrees. The strategies vary depending on whether its hot or cold but for this series, we will focus on the ways we regulate during the famously hot Columbia summer to keep our temperature at its set point.
When we need to get rid of heat—say, after exercising hard or prolonged heat exposure we can do one or all of three things:
Trigger a change our behavior: This might be something like going for a swim, drinking cold water or applying cold compresses, sitting in the shade or near a breeze, or removing a layer of clothing.
Trigger Vasodilation of the blood vessels: This is when our body instructs our blood vessels get wider, or dilate. This process is called vasodilation and it pulls warm blood from the body’s core to lose heat to the environment as it passes near the skin.
Trigger an evaporative cooling response: We also lose water from our skin by evaporation into the air. Sweating increases evaporative cooling in response to high body temperature. In sweating however, we do release water containing various ions—these ions are what most people refer to as "electrolytes" and we have to replenish those electrolytes through either a sports drink or the right foods.
Over the next month we’ll discuss things you need to know about when exercising in the heat like recognizing signs of heat stroke, how to prevent heat illness, and how to best acclimatize to exercising in the heat.
