Body Temperature Changes and Anxiety
Body Temperature Fluctuations, such as increased or decreased body temperature readings, can be common anxiety symptoms, including anxiety and panic attack symptoms.
Feeling suddenly hot or chilled are common for anxiety. It’s also common to alternate between feeling too hot and then too cold, and vice versa.
This article explains the relationship between anxiety and body temperature changes.
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Body Temperature Changes Anxiety Symptom Descriptions
- Your body’s temperature seems to fluctuate somewhat higher or lower than the normal 98.6ºF (37ºC).
- You get sudden hot flashes (suddenly feel overly hot) that can be accompanied by sweating.
- You suddenly feel cold and chilled, as if the temperature in the room suddenly dropped.
- You have a low-grade fever that ranges between 99 to 100 degrees F (37 to 38 degrees C).
This symptom can:
- Occur occasionally, frequently, or persistently.
- Precede, accompany, or follow an escalation of other anxiety symptoms or occur by itself.
- Precede, accompany, or follow a period of nervousness, anxiety, fear, and stress, or occur "out of the blue" for no reason.
- Range in intensity from mild, to moderate, to severe.
- Come in waves where it’s strong one moment and eases off the next.
- Occur for a while, subside, and then return for no reason.
- Change from day to day, moment to moment, or remain as a constant background during your struggle with anxiety disorder.
All the above combinations and variations are common.
To see if anxiety might be playing a role in your symptoms, rate your level of anxiety using our free one-minute instant results Anxiety Test, Anxiety Disorder Test, or Hyperstimulation Test.
The higher the rating, the more likely anxiety could be contributing to or causing your anxiety symptoms, including feeling like impending doom symptoms.
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Causes
Medical Advisory
Talk to your doctor about all new, changing, persistent, and returning symptoms as some medical conditions and medications can cause anxiety-like symptoms.
A healthy body operates within a safe temperature range of approximately 97.9 — 99.5ºF (36.5 — 37.5ºC).
If the body is too warm, it can cause health problems. For example, heat exhaustion and heat stroke occur when the body is too warm. Heat stroke is a medical emergency that, if untreated, can lead to death.
If the body is too cold, it can also cause health problems. For example, hypothermia occurs when the body is too cold. Untreated hypothermia can also lead to death.
Body temperature measures the body's ability to generate and rid itself of excessive heat. It does a good job of keeping its temperature within a narrow, safe range despite the many processes within it and the variations in temperature outside the body.
It's remarkable how the body deals with being too hot or cold. For example, when the body is too hot, blood vessels in the skin expand to carry excess heat to the skin’s surface, allowing body temperature to cool. If the body is very hot, it may sweat. Evaporating sweat also helps cool the body.
If the body is too cold, blood vessels narrow, reducing blood flow to the skin, which conserves body heat. Goosebumps might also occur, causing the hairs on the skin to stand up, creating an insulating effect that traps heat. Shivering might also occur due to involuntary rapid contractions of muscles, which helps generate body heat.
When you feel too hot or cold, and you begin either sweating or shivering, your body is telling you to take appropriate action to keep its temperature within the safe range.
Normal body temperature, on average, is approximately 98.6°F. However, it's common for body temperature to fluctuate 1°F one way or the other. This fluctuation can occur for many reasons. For example, your body temperature may drop if you're quiet and relaxed. However, being active and busy during the day may elevate body temperature to the higher end within the normal range.
Other factors that affect body temperature include metabolic rate, weight, exercise, age, hormones, pregnancy, and gender.
The body's biological clock also affects body temperature. For example, before going to sleep, the body cools somewhat to help bring on sleep. As we wake up, the biological clock increases body temperature so that we can function normally during the day.
Bacterial infection can also cause body temperature to rise, one of the most common causes of increased body temperature. Since viruses and bacteria have a difficult time surviving at temperatures higher than normal, when the body detects a bacterial infection, it involuntarily increases its temperature (fever) and blood flow to speed up defense actions to fight the infection. It's not uncommon for the body to raise its body temperature as much as 3 to 5°F to fight off an infection.
Because elevated body temperature also causes harm to the body, we don't want to let prolonged high temperatures go untreated. As mentioned, it's normal for body temperatures to fluctuate 1° F above or below the normal range.
Other factors can affect body temperature, including:
- Medications - antibiotics, narcotics, and antihistamines (to name a few)
- Medical conditions - heart condition, heart attack, cancer, leukemia, and Hodgkin's lymphoma.
- Exposure to cold (low body temperature)
- Shock (low body temperature)
- Alcohol (low body temperature)
- Drug use (low body temperature)
- Metabolic disorders - diabetes and hyperthyroidism
How you take your body temperature may also produce varying results. For example, rectal or tympanic (ear) temperatures are normally as much as 1°F higher than oral temperatures. Axillary (armpit) temperature may be as much as 1°F lower than oral temperatures.
1. Anxiety-Activated Stress Response
Regarding anxiety, yes, anxiety can affect body temperature slightly (plus or minus 1ºF).[1][2]
Anxiety can affect body temperature in many ways. For instance:
Anxious behavior, such as worry, activates the stress response, which immediately prepares the body for emergency action – to fight or flee. This survival reaction is often referred to as the fight or flight response.[3][4] Visit our “Stress Response” article for the many ways it can affect the body.
Some of the stress response changes that can affect body temperature include:
- Quickly converts the body’s energy reserves into “fuel” (blood sugar) to provide an instant boost of energy. An instant boost in energy can increase body temperature.
- Increases heart rate, respiration, and metabolism due to the boost in energy. An increase in metabolism can increase body temperature.
- Stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, increasing nervous system activity to be more sensitive and reactive to danger. Sympathetic nervous system stimulation can increase body temperature.
- Heightens most of the body’s senses to be more aware of danger. Increased sensory perception can indirectly increase body temperature due to vasoconstriction of peripheral blood vessels.
- Shunts blood to parts of the body vital to survival, such as the brain, arms, legs, and vital organs, and away from parts less vital for survival, such as the stomach, digestive system, and skin. It accomplishes this by constricting blood vessels in certain parts of the body and dilating them in others. Blood shunted to and away from the skin can cause an increase and decrease in body temperature.
- Causes muscles to tighten to make the body more resilient to injury. Tight muscles can constrict blood vessels, causing a decrease in body temperature, or an increase if the muscle tension is so dramatic that it increases body heat.
- Suppresses the immune system so that most of the body’s resources are used for emergency action. Chronic immune system suppression can allow bacteria and viruses to take hold in the body, causing a rise in body temperature to fight the intruders.
- Increases respiration to accommodate the increase in heart rate. Increased respiration can increase body temperature.
- Increases perspiration to keep the body cool and expel toxins, reducing body temperature.
When a stress response is active, the above changes can cause an acute change in body temperature.
2. Stress-Response Hyperstimulation
Furthermore, when stress responses occur too frequently, such as from overly apprehensive behavior, the body can remain in a state of semi-stress-response-readiness, which we call “stress-response hyperstimulation” since stress hormones are powerful stimulants.
Hyperstimulation is also often referred to as “hyperarousal,” “HPA axis dysfunction,” or “nervous system dysregulation.”[5][6]
Visit our “Hyperstimulation” article for more information about the many ways hyperstimulation can affect the body and how we feel.
Hyperstimulation can cause the changes of an active stress response even though a stress response hasn’t been activated. Hyperstimulation is a common cause of chronic body temperature changes.
So yes, anxiety and hyperstimulation can cause a change in body temperature. But that change is minor, within 1° F or so (since each body is somewhat physically and chemically unique, some people might have a higher variation than 1° F).
If your doctor has ruled out medical causes of fluctuating body temperature, anxiety and hyperstimulation can cause body temperature fluctuations, even those lower or higher than 1° F.
You should see your doctor if you are experiencing a more dramatic change. There may be another reason for your higher or lower body temperature.
3. Other Factors
Other factors can create stress and cause anxiety-like symptoms, as well as aggravate existing anxiety symptoms, including:
- Medication
- Recreational drugs
- Stimulants
- Sleep deprivation
- Fatigue
- Hyper and hypoventilation
- Low blood sugar
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Dehydration
- Hormone changes
- Pain
Select the relevant link for more information.
Treatment
When this symptom is caused or aggravated by other factors, addressing the appropriate factor(s) can help reduce and eliminate body temperature fluctuations.
When this anxiety symptom is caused by apprehensive behavior and the accompanying stress response changes, calming yourself will bring an end to the active stress response and its changes. As your body recovers from the active stress response, this anxiety symptom will subside.
Keep in mind that it can take the body up to 20 minutes or more to recover from a major stress response. This is normal and shouldn’t be a cause for concern.
You can eliminate hyperstimulation by:
- Reducing stress.
- Containing anxious behavior (since anxiety creates stress).
- Regular deep relaxation.
- Avoiding stimulants.
- Regular light to moderate exercise.
- Eating a healthy diet of whole and natural foods.
- Passively accepting your symptoms until they subside.
- Being patient as your body recovers.
Visit our “60 Natural Ways To Reduce Stress” article for more ways to reduce stress.
Recovery Support members can view chapters 5, 6, 7, 14 and more for more detailed information about recovering from hyperstimulation and anxiety disorder.
As the body recovers from hyperstimulation, it stops sending symptoms, including this one.
Addressing your anxiety and hyperstimulation issues can help reduce and eliminate anxiety-caused body temperature changes.
Recovery Support
The Recovery Support area of our website contains thousands of pages of important self-help information to help individuals overcome anxiety disorder, hyperstimulation, and symptoms.
Due to the vast amount of information, including a private Discussion Forum, many of our Recovery Support members consider it their online recovery support group.
Therapy
Unidentified and unaddressed underlying factors cause issues with anxiety. As such, they are the primary reason why anxiety symptoms persist.
Addressing your underlying factors (Level Two recovery) is most important if you want lasting success.
Addressing Level Two recovery can help you:
- Contain anxious behavior.
- Become unafraid of anxiety symptoms and the strong feelings of anxiety.
- End anxiety symptoms.
- Successfully address the underlying factors that so often cause issues with anxiety.
- End what can feel like out-of-control worry.
All our recommended anxiety therapists have had anxiety disorder and overcame it. Their personal experience with anxiety disorder and their Master's Degree and above professional training give them insight other therapists don't have.
If you want to achieve lasting success over anxiety disorder, any one of our recommended therapists would be a good choice.
Working with an experienced anxiety disorder therapist is the most effective way to treat anxiety disorder, especially if you have persistent symptoms and difficulty containing anxious behavior, such as worry.[7][8][9]
In many cases, working with an experienced therapist is the only way to overcome stubborn anxiety.
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Common Anxiety Symptoms
Additional Resources
- For a comprehensive list of Anxiety Disorders Symptoms Signs, Types, Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment.
- Anxiety and panic attacks symptoms can be powerful experiences. Find out what they are and how to stop them.
- How to stop an anxiety attack and panic.
- Free online anxiety tests to screen for anxiety. Two minute tests with instant results. Such as:
- Anxiety 101 is a summarized description of anxiety, anxiety disorder, and how to overcome it.
Return to our anxiety disorders signs and symptoms page.
anxietycentre.com: Information, support, and therapy for anxiety disorder and its symptoms, including Change In Body Temperature.
References
1. Vinkers, C H, et al. “The Effect of Stress on Core and Peripheral Body Temperature in Humans.” Stress (Amsterdam, Netherlands)., U.S. National Library of Medicine, Sept. 2013.
2. Oka, Takakazu. “Psychogenic Fever: How Psychological Stress Affects Body Temperature in the Clinical Population.” Temperature: Multidisciplinary Biomedical Journal, Taylor & Francis, 2015.
3. Chu, Brianna, et al. “Physiology, Stress Reaction.” StatPearls, 7 May 2024.
4. Godoy, Livea, et al. "A Comprehensive Overview on Stress Neurobiology: Basic Concepts and Clinical Implications." Frontiers In Behavioral Neuroscience, 3, July 2018.
5. Elbers, Jorina, et al. "Wired for Threat: Clinical Features of Nervous System Dysregulation in 80 Children." Pediatric Neurology, Dec 2018.
6. Teixeira, Renata Roland, et al. “Chronic Stress Induces a Hyporeactivity of the Autonomic Nervous System in Response to Acute Mental Stressor and Impairs Cognitive Performance in Business Executives.” Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2015.
7. Hofmann, Stefan G., et al. “The Efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Review of Meta-Analyses.” Cognitive Therapy and Research, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Oct. 2012.
8. Leichsenring, Falk. “Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy the Gold Standard for Psychotherapy?” JAMA, American Medical Association, 10 Oct. 2017.
9. DISCLAIMER: Because each body is somewhat chemically unique, and because each person will have a unique mix of symptoms and underlying factors, recovery results may vary. Variances can occur for many reasons, including due to the severity of the condition, the ability of the person to apply the recovery concepts, and the commitment to making behavioral change.