regulatory mechanisms designed to keep
systems operating within safe, healthy
parameters and maintain homeostasis
(equilibrium) in the body. Think of the
thermostat in your house. The furnace kicks
on to keep the temperature above the lowest
point set, but as the temperature rises to the
top end of the range, the thermostat turns on
your fan or air conditioner. Much as your
thermostat keeps your house within a
“healthy” temperature range, hormones work
in delicate, intertwined ways to maintain
homeostasis in your body.
Hormones also respond to any external
factor that tips the scales out of balance. To
go back to our thermostat analogy, opening a
window in wintertime will push the
temperature in your home off balance. The act
of opening a window sends a message (“It’s
getting cold in here!”) to your thermostat,
which reacts to that stimulus with an internal
correction (firing up your furnace). When the