We used to say that 37 degrees Celsius is the normal body temperature of human beings, but have you found that our normal body temperature is basically less than 37 degrees? Why is people's body temperature getting lower and lower? 185 1 year, Karl Wunderlich, a German doctor, collected the armpit temperature data of 25,000 people after millions of repeated measurements, and got an average of 37 degrees, which was confirmed as normal body temperature for the first time.
But in recent years, 37 degrees is not common. In 2020, Julie, a professor at Stanford University, and his research team analyzed 677,423 temperature data. The results showed that compared with19th century, the male body temperature dropped from 37. 16 to 36.6 degrees, with an average drop of 0.03 degrees every ten years. The same is true for women's body temperature, which continues to drop. Experts have put forward several conjectures about the drop of human body temperature, the most important of which is the lack of exercise. With the improvement of living standards, people eat better, but the intensity of labor and exercise has decreased. The popularity of smart home appliances reduces people's activity, and the direct result is the reduction of muscle content. Muscle is the largest fever organ in human body, which can produce more than 40% body temperature. Lack of muscle will slow down people's metabolism, which will lead to hypothermia.
In addition, modern people live under great pressure. Under high pressure, the human body secretes a hormone called cortisol, which not only breaks down muscles, but also promotes fat storage, thus lowering body temperature. Secondly, the difficulty in sweating caused by air conditioning is also a major reason for the drop in body temperature. If people stay in an air-conditioned room and the room temperature stays at 20 to 30 degrees for a long time, the thermoregulatory center of the hypothalamus of the brain will lose the opportunity to receive stimulation. If it lasts for a long time, it is no longer sensitive to external temperature, resulting in hypothermia.
Speaking of which, some people are curious. Why is the temperature between 36 and 37 degrees instead of 27 or 47 degrees? What effect does hypothermia have on human body? At present, it is generally believed that at the temperature of 37 degrees, the biological enzyme activity in human body is the highest, and the utilization rate of influencing substances is also the highest. Therefore, in the process of evolution, the human body temperature will be maintained at around 37 degrees, and hypothermia will lead to the decline of human immunity. Every time the temperature rises by one degree, the immunity will increase by five to six times. When the body temperature drops by one degree, the immunity will be reduced by 30%, and the immune system will miss 1500 cancer cells and let them grow freely. This also means that hypothermia may increase the incidence of cancer.
So in today's temperature drop, how many degrees of fever is a fever? What are the differences between China and foreign countries in the formulation of standards? In September, 2000, a China student who flew from Houston to Shanghai was unable to board the plane because his temperature reached 37.4 degrees, which exceeded the domestic standard of 37.3 degrees. The international student said that before new york boarded the plane, his temperature was 37.4 degrees, but he was able to board the plane smoothly. The reason for this is that our fever standard is different from that of foreign countries. The criteria for distinguishing in the United States are mild 38 to 38.4 degrees, moderate 38.5 to 38.9 degrees, and severe 39 to 40 degrees. The temperature below 38 degrees is normal. But in China, a temperature over 37.3 degrees is a low fever, and a temperature over 38.5 degrees is a high fever.