How come you can comfortable touch water that is well above 100 degrees F, but being outside in 100 degree F weather feels awful?
In: Biology
Let’s start first by acknowledging that your overall comfort level in terms of body temperature has to do with how well your body maintains its internal “heat setting” at around 98.6F. Why does it do this? Because that’s the optimal temperature for it to function (especially for enzymatic processes).
Now the body doesn’t just magically stay at this temperature; it has to actively adjust itself in accordance to the environment it’s in. This balancing act (called homeostasis) happens because of a small part in your brain that functions like a thermostat, and it’s always happening.
So let’s say you’re outside wearing a sweater and the temperature is 80F. Eventually, you’ll begin to feel uncomfortable because your internal temperature at this point would actually be *rising*, which would make you feel the urge to remove some clothing in order to allow more heat to get away from you so that your body’s temperature will return to an ideal state. (This also works in reverse: if you’re too cold then your body will start shivering and you’ll feel a strong urge to find warmth).
Now, to the main part of your question. The reason why water that’s slightly above body temperature feels more comfortable than air that’s the same temperature is this:
Heat transfers far, far easier in water than it does in air (it’s for this reason that water that’s 60F is *far more dangerous* than air that’s the same temp). Because of this, your body can’t as easily dump away its heat in hot air and the end result is that you feel miserable until you either remove clothes (allowing for more heat to escape) or find some place that’s cooler.
That being said, if you stay in water that’s 100F long enough, your body will eventually reach the same temperature and you’ll probably get the urge to get out at that point.
You would think it is hot, if you were completely covered in 100 F, for extended periods of time.
Because the water is only a few degrees variation from you own body temperature and does not transfer to you as noticable as the air around you which is flooding you comparatively. Not to mention the sun rays which are also actively adding heat to you.
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