98.6 Degrees, (Not the Band) But Why You Get Sick At Lower Body Temperatures 🥶

Have you noticed that more and more people feel cold these days? 🥶 Maybe it’s you or your spouse. Maybe it’s the air conditioning.

Do you tend to always have cold hands or feet? Perhaps you just feel like it’s harder to stay warm than it used to be.

When our body runs colder than the ideal range, we can experience any of the following:

• Chronic colds
• Depression
• Burnout
• Fatigue
• Osteoarthritis
• Impotence
• Parkinson’s disease
• Multiple Sclerosis 
• Dementia
• Cancer (tumors grow faster at 95 degrees and lower)

There are several simple ways to increase your body temperature if you are cold and to maintain an ideal body temperature, and we're going to get right into it right after we define what that even is.

What is a Healthy Body Temperature Range?

The average body temperature for adults isn’t up to par for many people even though the body already knows how to maintain body temperature in a healthy range (98.6 degrees F, see more below). That’s because our thermoregulation processes often don’t function properly with chronic diseases or as we age. And our modern lifestyle isn’t helping matters.

If you’re tired of being cold and you want to know how to regulate your body temperature, what the best body temperature is, and why is your body having trouble regulating temperature, then you’re in the right place. 

Why Does Maintaining an Ideal Body Temperature Matter?

Maintaining an ideal body temperature may be more important than you think. 

When we don’t keep our body temperature in the optimal range, we can run into both acute and chronic issues, and unfortunately the temperature regulatory mechanisms in the body lose effectiveness with age.

As we mentioned above, when our body runs colder than the ideal range, we can experience cold hands and feet, chronic colds, depression, burnout, fatigue, osteoarthritis, impotence, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, dementia, and even ancer (tumors grow faster at 95 degrees and lower).

In his book, 98,6°F: Ideal Body Temperature as the Secret to Optimum Health, German naturopath, Dr. Uwe Karstädt, explains that 70% of his patients that have chronic disease are running cold. In fact, he is quoted as saying “Cold person = ill person.”

At that temperature of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, we are supporting the body’s ability to circulate blood and maintain optimal health. We power up our immune system, vitality, and metabolism, all of which decrease drastically as the body loses degrees.

What is the Normal Body Temperature Range in Fahrenheit & Celsius?

According to MedlinePlus, the ideal temperature for the human body is considered to be in the range of 97 to 99 degrees Fahrenheit (36.1 to 37.2 degrees Celsius) when measured orally. Variations within this range are usually considered normal, especially since body temperature is influenced by factors like age, sex, body weight, time of day, physical activity, and after eating certain foods.

If body temperature falls outside of that range on a consistent basis, it is generally a good idea to consult a healthcare professional.

A Brief History of the Importance of Maintaining a Healthy Body Temperature

Our ancestors certainly put a lot of attention on keeping the body warm because they believed it plays a key role in health. They knew how to maintain body temperature in winter or any time of the year.

Let’s look at some examples.

• Going all the way back almost 2500 years, the father of Western medicine, Hippocrates, taught that fevers are the body’s way of healing. In fact, he is quoted as saying, “Give me the power to produce fever, and I will cure all disease.”
• In Ancient India, the practice of Ayurveda involved placing hot stones on the body to relax muscles and reduce pain. Hyperthermia (the heating of the body) was also used to improve health and reduce aging.
• Heated stones were used by the Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. They would wrap themselves in warm blankets and then immerse themselves in hot sand or water.
• In Asia, handmade mattress pads were lined with crushed crystals and placed in the sun during the day to capture its thermal power so that it could be used to benefit the body at night while sleeping on the mat. They would also place hot stones on the stomach for digestive health.
• In Korea, they used to heat their stone floors with underfloor wood burning stoves because it was considered that important for health and good sleep.
• Turkish baths, Russian banyas, Finnish saunas, and Native American sweat lodges have been used throughout history. Often still used to this day, these steam rooms were used to detoxify the body, regenerate new cells, and even suppress tumor growth.

What Regulates Body Temperature & What Doesn’t?

If you find yourself wondering, "Why does my body have a hard time regulating temperature?" or just "What causes temperature regulation issues?," we've got some answers for you.

Aside from the obvious infections and extreme weather, which can cause thermoregulation dysfunction, there are several other reasons why so many of us are walking around with a temperature that is anything but ideal.

Chronic Disease

Some of the reasons why people are colder than normal is because they have anemia, poor blood circulation, hypothyroidism, diabetes, fibromyalgia, or any other chronic issue. But this begs the question, which came first? Are they ill because their body temperature is low or is their body temperature low because they are ill? 

Either way, Dr. Uwe Karstädt, presents tons of proof in his book about how increasing body temperature to the ideal range can improve chronic conditions.

Lifestyle

Low body mass index (BMI), dehydration, lack of sleep, and nutrient deficiencies are all noted as being a cause of low body temperature. Many people are sensitive to air conditioning or they aren’t getting enough physical activity. All of these things play a role in maintaining an ideal body temperature.

Age

When the body gets too cold, it decreases blood flow to the skin in an effort to reduce heat loss. Then, the body tries to increase heat production inside the body through shivering, which is the rapid contraction of muscles. 

Both of these thermoregulation control systems become less effective as we age, which is why older adults tend to be colder than children and younger adults. Plus, when we can’t maintain an ideal body temperature, it puts added stress on the cardiovascular system, which is generally already stressed as we age.

When the body needs to cool down, it does so by sweating, which serves to cool the skin as it evaporates. The body also works to pull heat from the core by dilating blood vessels so that warm blood can flow to the surface of the skin. As we age, our sweat glands don’t produce as much sweat and our blood doesn’t flow to the skin as effectively.

How to Maintain Body Temperature (You’ll Love This!)

There are ways to increase body temperature to 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius) when we are low so that we can enjoy health once again, our favorite of which is far infrared heat therapy. 

Far Infrared (FIR) heat therapy is a natural, safe, invisible form of light that penetrates deeply into the body. Along with heating up the body, it provides other benefits as well, such as tissue repair, increased circulation, muscle relaxation, stress reduction, joint pain relief, and even weight loss benefits.

The Sparkle Mat utilizes far infrared heat therapy that is pushed through thousands of amethyst crystals, heating the crystals to provide even more benefits to the user. When you use a Sparkle Mat, you are training the body to regulate its temperature more effectively so that you might feel warmer when you aren’t even using the mat.

Since the optimal temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius), we recommend setting the mat to at least that temperature to bring your body back to the ideal body temperature.

Final Thoughts

Is your body having trouble regulating temperature? Thermoregulation dysfunction doesn’t have to be an issue for you anymore. With different lifestyle choices, an effort to heal chronic issues, and a handy Sparkle Mat to keep you warm, you can get your body temperature back into a healthy and vibrant range.