Homeostasis are the processes that maintain the quality of equilibrium inside our bodies, thus applying negative or positive feedback to various bodily processes. One of the homeostatic controls is the thermoregulation of human blood flow in response to heat loss and heat gain; therefore controlling the response of blood vessels to maintain the normothermia (normal body temperature). With the article written by Charkoudian (2019), cutaneous vasoconstriction is coined as the “first line of defense” once exposed to environments with lower temperatures. Its nerves are active both during normothermic and hypothermic but increases more with the latter, which results in a decreased blood flow. On the other side, cutaneous vasodilator is inactive during normothermic, yet increases its reactivity during hyperthermia. It dilates the blood vessels, causing more blood to flow through it. Written in the same article, the alterations in the reflex processes of vasoconstriction and vasodilation can be caused by various factors. The blood flow is influenced by the bodily processes and mechanisms, which is written as follows: exercise, orthostasis, dehydration, menstrual cycle, aging, diabetes, and heart conditions.
For instance, in women who undergo menstruation monthly, the body temperature is affected by the different phases of the menstrual cycle. As one of these women, the awareness of vasoconstriction and vasodilation of blood vessels aids a lot in understanding the processes that happen in my body every month. The blood flow during my menstruation influences my body temperature, with shiftings in the thermoregulation of vasodilating my blood vessels. It can also be influenced by active movements of exercise during menstruation, which I sometimes do.
Reference:
Charkoudian, N. (2010). Mechanisms and modifiers of reflex induced cutaneous vasodilation and vasoconstriction in humans. Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985), 109(4), 1221–1228. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00298.2010