How does shivering warm you up?
Answer
Fast involuntary muscle contractions give off heat
Muscle is inefficient: most of the energy it uses leaves as heat rather than movement. Shivering works opposing muscles against each other to exploit that, and can lift heat production to several times the resting rate.
| Category | Human Body |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Other options in the game | It pushes warm blood from the core out to the skin, It speeds up breathing so warmer air reaches the lungs, It burns the layer of fat directly under the skin |
| Source | Guyton and Hall, Textbook of Medical Physiology |
Free, in your browser. No account needed. Human Body is one of 30 categories you can pick.