A great deal of mechanism exists within the body in order to stabilise the internal environment, and this is particularly important with regards to body temperature. At 37°C the human temperature is well balanced to provide the optimum conditions for tissue metabolism. Cooler temperatures would slow down the rate of cellular chemistry, which in turn would reduce cellular function. As it is, most chemical changes require enzymes to speed up the reactions to a level necessary for life. When these temperature-sensitive reactions are cooled, the resultant slowing of metabolism becomes dangerous to health. Hotter temperatures are also problematic, by causing metabolic
systems to become inefficient and enzymes to move closer to denaturing. Denaturing is a heat-related change in protein structure which again creates failure of cellular activity.