How does vasoconstriction effect your body temperature?

Answer 1

Vasoconstriction (from "vaso-" meaning vessel) is constriction of the blood vessels. The opposite of vasoconstriction is vasodilatation, which is the relaxation of blood vessels. Vasoconstriction causes the radius of blood vessels to decrease, while vasodilatation increases radius.

Blood flow through a vessel can be modeled as the flow of fluid through a pipe. Fluid flow through a pipe is directly proportional to the fourth power of pipe radius. As radius decreases, blood flow decreases, and vice versa. So vasoconstriction and vasodilatation can be used to regulate flow through a blood vessel.

Peripheral blood vessels are usually considered those not in the core of the body and not those that supply skeletal muscles. A common example is the blood vessels of the skin. So peripheral vasoconstriction and vasodilatation control the amount of blood flow to the skin.

Skin blood flow is a critical component of temperature regulation. To dissipate heat, warmblooded animals direct blood flow to the skin so it can be transferred to the surrounding environment. So if you were to exercise (which produces heat) or enter a steamy sauna, your skin blood vessels would vasodilate to direct that warm blood towards the skin surface so heat can be dissipated. Conversely, if you were to get cold for any reason, peripheral vasoconstriction would occur which would shunt blood away from the skin to help conserve heat and prevent its dissipation to the environment.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

It keeps the core warm by taking the blood from the outer extremities.