Why do we shiver when we're cold?

Answer 1

its a way our bodies try and stay warm, have you heard keep moving you will stay warmer that way. it keeps the blood moving in your body so it dont freeze

Answer 2

Shivering, the involuntary contraction and relaxation of skeletal muscles, is one way the body tries to warm itself when it is cold.

The brain monitors and controls body temperature with great precision. The area of the brain responsible for maintaining body temperature is the hypothalamus, which acts as a thermostat. It responds if the skin cools down and as nerve endings signal danger. in cold conditions, the skin's thermal receptors send messages to the hypothalamus, which directs blood away from the skin to minimize heat exchange with the air. The blood vessels constrict (narrow) and the erector muscles contract, making the hair "stand on end," and perhaps the skin turns bluish. The skin puckers to maintain heat and people look like a "plucked goose," hence the term "goose flesh." The erect hairs also serve to trap warm air - more efficiently in furry animals such as cats, than in humans.

As the skin cools further, shivering sets in with the muscles contracting and releasing in bursts, to exert some "muscle exercise" in order to increase heat production and warm the body.


Shivering usually starts in the head and neck, then spreads down through the back and to the muscles in the lower body Some muscles shiver more efficiently than others - such as the mouth muscles that make the "teeth chatter." With more body cooling, shivering becomes more violent, with maximum shivering at a cooling to 34[degrees]-35[degrees]C. Moderate hypothermia (core body cooling) sets in around 33[degrees]-30[degrees]C with cessation of shivering as people lose core heat. Below 30[degrees]C, hypothermia becomes severe and life-threatening. As hypothermia becomes more severe, the pulse slows and consciousness becomes clouded and behaviour irrational - with eventual loss of consciousness.

Answer 3

Because of a severe drop in thermal equilibrium of the skeletal structure.Hypothalamus and petutary glands monitors and controls the amplitude of fluctuation but only upto a point, e.g., in the range of 47-50 degree cel.in hot conditions. Beyond that range, heatstrokes are mostly preceeded by severe shivering followed by a sudden drop below the normal body temp.

Answer 4

Shivering is a natural response when your body temperature goes too low. It stimulates the cells in your body to move and produce heat, which heats it back to the normal body temperature

Answer 5

When the core body temperature drops, the shivering reflex is triggered. Its a natural response in our body sence that its trying to make the skin warmer.

Answer 6

Shivering is caused by the rapid contraction and relaxation of your muscles in an effort to generate heat.

Answer 7

Your body is burning off energy to produce heat to keep warm, to keep cells & vital organs alive. Otherwise you would suffer from hypothermia, frostbite or death in extremely cold conditions.
The first to be burned off is obtained from the stored fat your body has in reserves.

Answer 8

its your bodies way of generating heat and to start warming process..also known as the first stage of hypothermia

Answer 9

It's your body's way of raising your body temperature back up.