Is shivering voluntary or involuntary?

[whyamisopretty]

I thought it was involuntary, but according to TPR, it says that because you contract your skeletal muscles, which are somatic and not autonomic, that it is voluntary. But I've never been able to "control" my shivering, though. Does anyone know?

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[cornpops21]

Can you shiver right now if you wanted to? Yes.

 

[whyamisopretty]

I meant in the COLD. I can't control my shivering in the COLD.

Otherwise, I'd be a shivering weirdo walking down the street on a sunny day....so.

 

[cornpops21]

I guess you could call shivering "partly involuntary". In the cold, you can't help but shiver...but since it DOES involve skeletal muscle, you can theoretically contract those muscles and shiver whenever you wanted to. This is opposed to something like your heart pumping blood through your body, which can NEVER be consciously controlled.

 

[amar21]

EK is going too deep. The process of shivering as a method of thermoregulation is involuntary. The process of 'shivering' (and I quoted it for a reason) as a form of movement is voluntary. I hope questions like that don't come up on the MCAT.

 

[PinkCristina]

Shivering is an action of the body that is both voluntary and involuntary. In a cold setting, if and when your body shivers, that is involuntary. It's not YOU doing it. This is a reaction of your body being exposed to less than normal temperature.


However, if you are in a warm room or setting and you CHOOSE to shiver or "shake" then that's voluntary

 

[Czarcasm]

It's both.

 

[AriaMirror1028]

based on my research and personal experimentation it can be controlled in the cold to some degree but it takes a lot of practice and motivation. I can only force myself to not shiver if the action is causing pain in my muscles. learning to shiver at will may help if you ever get hypothermia. at a certain point the body stops trying to warm itself involontarily and shuts down instead. in this case being able to force your body to sjiver may keep you alive that much longer