Between December and February, the flu is at an all-time high. There are some who are coughing, sneezing or going through terrible headaches as they get through their everyday lives.

According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people are most likely to experience the flu for three to four days. In that time span, there is a correlation between handling illness and the way body temperature reflects on this notion.

The average human body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. However, recent studies have analyzed the average human body temperature has dropped to 97.5 to 97.9 degrees Fahrenheit.

Scientists question whether the change in body temperature is the result of the change in physical longevity and body type of the normal human body.

Although the research is still developing, a change in body temperature clearly reflects a persons health given their current environment and could possibly show the immune systems ability to adapt.

According to the International Journal of Biometeorology, the change in core body temperature correlates to heart rate and skin temperature affected through different environmental and working conditions.

A study by Stanford Medicine stated that the decline in body temperature goes back to after the events of the Civil War. During that time, those who were born in the early 1800s had a much higher body temperature by 1.06 degrees Fahrenheit than the average human born during the 1990s.

In the case of the academic environments, such as college, there is a heavy correlation to students ways of coping to get over the flu with their studies and their overall body temperature.

The concept of health and academics clash. With the way students study for finals, projects and other forms of assignments that need to be finished at a discrete deadline, a healthy lifestyle is usually not followed.

The stresses of everything in life tend to weaken your immune system. (Students are) getting less sleep dealing with everything else that theyre going to end up weakening their immune system where they get sick and are just exacerbating the problem, said Richard Coulter, history major.

The idea of putting too much stress on studying not only damages a students psychological health, but also their physical health.

Todays academic culture thrives with succeeding in classes at the cost of students physical well-being. Whether were arrogant in not taking the right medication or not sleeping enough, the idea of self-care seems non-existent within the academia.

Coulter also said students shouldnt take their academics too harshly in the face of coming down with the flu while studying.

Dont overwork yourself because those stresses (with your academics) are whats going to make that time of year so much more miserable, Coulter said.

There are ways the cold or flu can be remedied for a persons health so they dont have to further get sick or catch another flu virus; especially when there are people who are always busy throughout the day.

Though methods of feeling better may vary, there are some who say medicine, such as Tylenol, gets the job done.

Marketing major Maxwell Baranoff said, Go to the store, get some Tylenol, get over it, when asked about his method of getting over the flu.

Yet there are those who say hot drinks and various forms of health devices help battle the flu.

Ive been drinking so much tea, I got a humidifier for my throat, said Shantay Alvarez, psychology major.

Considering the correlation with body temperature and health, its important for anyone, especially college students, to consider their body temperature next time they come down with the flu.

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Rising stress levels will drop the average body temperature - The Daily Titan