Cold Weather
Maintaining homeostasis in the cold weather conditions could be difficult because in extreme cold the body is susceptible to frost bite and hypothermia. The colder regions have a higher risk for people and these problems because the body has to stay at or around the normal temperature of 98 degrees. If the body falls below 95 degrees it cannot preform the needed body functions that are needed to stay alive.
The short term fix for the temperature of the body dropping would be shivering, this is a way to generate some heat for the body so the internal temperature does not drop as quickly.
A falcultative response to this would be the veins near the surface of the skin starting to contract. This is called vasoconstriction, where the veins get narrow to try and make the heat that the body needs. It is made to reduce blood flow so the body can preserve as much heat as possible. After the body changes the veins to vasodialation and there is more blood being pushed around the body with the wider veins.
The people who live in areas of cold temperatures consume many calories and fatty foods so their body stores fat to keep them warm. This increases their basal metabolic rate and it makes them produce more body heat than the average person.
The cultural adaptions of the cold are warmer clothes and houses. People have made clothes out of furs and thicker materials so that they can keep as much body heat in their body as possible. Houses are made with more insulation and heaters so that they can stay warm and out of the harsh cold.
The knowledge that is learned when studying people who deal with this can come in handy as general knowledge. If there was ever another ice age or there was some sort of crazy storm, people would know that heavy material was needed for clothes and that everyone would need to start eating as much as possible. All of these tactics are to help someone avoid hypothermia and keep their body temperature where it needs to be to avoid problems and even death.
Just like people who live in these extremely cold places, they have no need for darker skin like people who live in deserts or hot places. People who are from Africa have darker skin because they need to be protected from the sun and keep their skin from constantly getting burned. People who live in the cold need to be larger and have more body fat to protect themselves, and people who are in the heat do not need the extra fat and tend to be smaller. The bigger the person the more body heat they will be able to keep and that will help them avoid hypothermia.
