why do we shiver?

Answer 1

Shivers are reflexes (say: ree-fleks-iz), which are things your body does automatically to keep you safe and healthy. Reflexes are controlled by your nervous system, which is made up of your brain, your spinal cord, and lots and lots of little nerves that stretch out all over your body. Nerves are like little strings or wires that carry information.

That's when things really start to get interesting. The signals go to your brain (telling you to wrap in the towel) and to your spinal cord, which sends a message to other nerves all over your body. What happens next? Your muscles tighten and loosen really fast. Why? They're trying to warm you up, just like taking a jog around the lake would do. Once you get all snug and cozy in your towel and your body warms back up, your brain and nerves tell your muscles to stop shivering.

There are other times when you might shiver, too. Sometimes you'll shiver when you're excited or afraid. When you feel these things, your brain and nerves send out messages through your body that cause your muscles to get excited, so you shiver.


You may notice that when you shiver, tiny bumps form all over your skin. Goosebumps happen because your skin is covered with hair. When the muscles that are attached to each hair get tight, they pull the hair and your skin up into the air.

Answer 2

Shivering is one of the methods that the human body uses to warm itself. It is a neurological reaction, that the body executes when it gets too cold. Joggers are familiar with the concept of moving to stay warm; they run in the coldest of weather and manage to stay warm. Basic physics dictate that energy taken from a storage source (like our fat) and changed to another form of energy (your body movements), results in yet another form of energy - heat. So when your muscles start moving back and fourth rapidly, they make heat, which helps warm the body in the cold. Some people have a different tolerance for cold, and in fact those who shiver easier, can withstand colder temperatures. Specific tolerances can change as we adapt over long term exposure, which is why all those Florida natives look at you funny when you wear your shorts down there in January, they have just adapted to the warm temperatures. Of Shivering is a sign that hypothermia is setting in as well, it's a very early sign, but uncontrollable shivering should be taken seriously.

Answer 3

Shivering is a special way the body has of trying to warm up when it gets cold. Whenever your muscles are working, they are also giving off heat. You already know this because when you are running or playing hard you get warm. Then your body sweats, and this helps cool you by evaporation of the sweat.

When your body gets cold you can help it warm up by running or some other kind of exercise. If you do not do that, your body has its own automatic or reflex way of making muscles work just under your skin. That is what we call shivering.

Answer 4

its your bodys way of creating warmth, you should put on a sweater or turn up the heat if you start to shiver too much, your body is telling you it needs to warm up, you should listen to it.

Answer 5

Once your core temp reaches a lower temp than it takes for your body and brain to operate normally ,your brain sends electric impulses to the muscles causing them start moving un- controlably in an effort to bring your body temp back up to where it can function normally.

Answer 6

our body has a definate temperature inside. so when the surrounding temperature drops below our body temperature there is a flow of heat from our body to surroudings and this immediately drops our body temperature. so due to this sudden movement we tend to shiver.

Answer 7

Friction creates heat.
So when we feel cold, our body prepares itself to make heat by shivering,i.e, by creating friction with air while moving.
We also feel cold when we are afraid.
BEST OF LUCK

Answer 8

your body shivers because it need to stay warm in order to matain homeostaesis which is your bodys internal stableness

Answer 9

It's your body making itself move so the friction can cause warmth

Answer 10

it is our bodies way of trying to make us warm when we get cold,it is acually one of the first signs of hypothermia.