Goosebumps
Posted by Marla on April 29, 2004
Q: why do we shiver when we're cold?
A: My guess is that most of us have been so cold that we shivered. Shivering is an uncontrolable response to a cooling our our body. Shivering is kind of a "last-ditch" effort by our body to stay warm. When we shiver, our muscles uncontrolably twitch as a way of creating heat - the body's attempt to keep our body temperature at a stable level. One of the results (by-products) of muscle activity is heat and that's why hard work on a hot day simply makes you even hotter.
John Wiessinger ( April 30, 2004)
Filed under: Ecology