If the average body temp is 98 degrees, then why are we so hot when it is 98 degrees outside?

Question

why doesnt 98 degree air or water feel normal to our 98 degree skin?

Answer 1

98.6 degrees is our core temperature.  Not all parts of the body can handle differences in temperature.  A good example of this is testicles.  They hang outside the body because at 98.6 degrees sperm would die.  When it's cold outside the sack shrinks up moving them closer to the body to keep warm.  Skin is the same way.  Skin will dry out at 98.6 degrees.  Since it's on the outside of us it's far away from the core temperature.  That's why we sweat when it gets warmer outside, or our core temp increases due to fever.

Answer 2

Energy conversion is not very efficient. When ATP is used to work, a large portion of the energy is wasted as heat. Although our body temperature is constant at 98 F, we constantly need to lose the extra heat. We do this by sweating. If the humidity is high, we have more difficulty in evaporating water to cool us down. So we are more comfortable at a lower temperature. With clothes on, 65 - 75 F is most comfortable.

Answer 3

The body constantly uses up energy (burning up sugars with breathed oxygen, etc. especially when exercising) and the metabolic heat must be lost to the environment.  Dry air at 98 degrees is not so bad because the skin can sweat and evaporation of sweat removes considerable heat.  Very humid air at 98 degrees is uncomfortable because even though the skin sweats, the sweat can not easily evaporate to cool us off.  Breathing in cool air and exhaling warm moist air can also remove heat unless the air breathed in is also at 98 degrees and very humid.  Remember, both dogs and men keep cool with short pants.

Answer 4

Because your body generates heat. If it doesn't "give off" the excess heat, through sweating or simply warming the air around the body by convection, your body overheats and soon dies. As the ambient temp rises closer and closer to your body temp, the body isn't able to pass as much  heat to the air and once the ambient temp rises above your body temp, the air starts to heat your body. This leaves your body with only sweating to cool itself. So if the humidity is high this isn't going to work well either.

Answer 5

The body disposes of excess heat by radiating it through the skin and by sweating. Now suppose you have two rooms in a house separated from each other by a door. One is allowed to become cool while the other is heated to a high temperature. When the door is opened, you know logically that because there is a large difference in temperature the rooms will rapidly equilibrate to a medium temperature. This is like your body in a cool environment. The large gradient in temperature allows your body to easily loose heat to the environment. However if the environment is hot, you cannot easily loose heat to the environment because your body is already in equilibrium with the environment. Unfortunately, your body is still producing heat that cannot easily be disposed of. Thus, the body is producing more heat than it can dispose of, which results in an increase in body temperature and the sensation of being overheated.

Answer 6

Because it doubles the heat we are feeling.So where are not feeling 98 degrees we are feeling our original 98 degrees in our body as well as the 98 degrees outside,so we basiacally feeling 196 degrees.

Answer 7

Your internal temperature is 98 deg.  Your external temp is regulated by your blood, your sweat, and the air passing by you.  When the air is warmer than your skin temperature, which is about 76 degrees, you "feel" the warmth of the air around you when it is warmer than this.  If it is colder than this you "feel" colder...but your internal temperature is fairly constant at 98.

Answer 8

Our body produce heat. That heat needs to go away, or else our temperature would rise. The hotter it is around, the harder it is to get rid of that heat. If the air is the same temperature as your body, how can you release that heat? The only mechanism left is sweat (evaporative cooling) and that would make you uncomfortable.