Title: Forget 98.6°F. Humans Are Cooling Off — Here's Why
Headings: Forget 98.6°F. Humans Are Cooling Off — Here’s Why
Health News
Forget 98.6°F. Humans Are Cooling Off — Here’s Why
What’s normal
Why temps are falling

Content: Temperatures declined over time even when her team controlled for different devices. Susan Yeargin, PhD, associate professor of exercise science at University of South Carolina, has tested all types of temperature devices in diagnosing hyper- and hypothermia. They were inaccurate compared to the rectal temperature. “Each person’s unique normothermic body temperature should be considered by healthcare providers. Certain medications can influence a person’s regular ‘set point’ temperature, and obviously hot and cold outdoor temperatures can affect a person’s body temperature over time,” Yeargin said. “When healthcare providers give advice to individuals about these medications and environments, their unique normothermic body temperature should be considered,” she said. According to Parsonnet, other reasons for the decline in body temperature over time could be that we’re also using less energy and have a lower metabolic rate than in the past. The reduction may be due to a population-wide decline in inflammation. Generally, inflammation increases our metabolism and raises temperature. Because of improvements in public health, this could be why inflammation has decreased.