You're listening to a Glassbox media podcast.

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast, where I help you learn a little and sleep a lot.

I'm your host, Benjamin Boster, and tonight let's fall asleep learning about homeostasis.

In biology, homeostasis is the state of steady internal physical and chemical conditions maintained by living systems.

This is the condition of optimal functioning for the organism

and includes many variables such as body temperature and fluid balance

being kept within certain preset limits, homeostatic range.

Other variables include the pH of extracellular fluid, the concentrations of sodium, potassium,

and calcium ions, as well as the blood sugar level, and these need to be

regulated despite changes in the environment, diet, or level of activity.

Each of these variables is controlled by one or more regulators or homeostatic mechanisms,

which together maintain life.

Homeostasis is brought about by a natural resistance to change when already in optimal conditions,

and equilibrium is maintained by many regulatory mechanisms.

It is thought to be the central motivation for all organic action.

All homeostatic control mechanisms have at least three interdependent components for the variable being regulated, a receptor, a control center,

and an effector.

The receptor is the sensing component that monitors and responds to changes in the environment,

either external or internal.

Receptors include thermoreceptors and mechanoreceptors.

Control centers include the respiratory center and the renin angiotensin system.

An effector is the target acton to bring about the change back to the normal state.

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