Get Student Exploration Human Homeostasis

Much like a thermostat regulates the temperature inside your home, the hypothalamus regulates your body temperature, responding to internal and external stimuli and making adjustments to keep the body within one or two degrees of 98.6 degrees.

In a human, a tiny part of the brain called the hypothalamus, located behind the eyes, serves as the thermostat. It can warm the body by causing it to shiver and cool the body by causing it to perspire. The hypothalamus also regulates hunger, thirst, sex drive and other body activities.

When the level is off (in either direction, too much or too little), homeostasis will work to correct it. For example, to regulate temperature, you will sweat when you get too hot or shiver when you get too cold. Another way to think of it is like the thermostat in your house.

What does a thermostat do if it gets too cool? It will try to even out the temperature by making it warmer. What does a thermostat do if it gets too hot? It will try to make it cooler.

If the temperature is too high, the hypothalamus can initiate several processes to lower it. These include increasing the circulation of the blood to the surface of the body to allow for the dissipation of heat through the skin and initiation of sweating to allow evaporation of water on the skin to cool its surface.

When your hypothalamus senses that you're too hot, it sends signals to your sweat glands to make you sweat and cool you off. When the hypothalamus senses that you're too cold, it sends signals to your muscles that make your shiver and create warmth. This is called maintaining homeostasis.

The Human Homeostasis Gizmo™ allows you to explore how the human body stays at a nearly constant temperature in different conditions. Notice the Air temp. and Body temp. thermometers representing the air temperature and body temperature.

The hypothalamus functions as a type of thermostat for the body.