Sweating in Silence
Article written by Rana Morris.
I’m huffing and puffing my way through an aerobics class with sweat dripping from every pore. It splashes onto the floor and trying not to slip in it, my eyes wander over to a fellow participant whose skin is showing only a faint red blush. It’s then I think back to my mum’s words: “Horses sweat, men perspire and women merely glow.” Is there something wrong with me?
Sweat is often the evidence of a hard day’s work or a great workout at the gym, however more importantly it’s an essential body cooling reaction to overheating. We are born with roughly 3 million sweat glands.2 However they don’t kick in properly until after puberty. We can essentially blame mum and dad for our sweating or lack of and interestingly enough, the fitter we become usually the more sweat we produce.
Phew that’s a relief for me!
Sweat is automatically triggered when the body starts to reach temperatures above normal resting body temperature (37°C).1 The nerves from the brain’s thermostat stimulate the sweat glands which spurt out tiny droplets of sweat. What’s so amazing about the human body is that it can anticipate the need for heat loss just a few seconds into that aerobic class or bike ride.
Unfortunately the droplets of my sweat journeying to the floor are doing nothing to keep me cool, nor is the sneaky towel wiping off my forehead in between sets. The cooling of our body works by sweat evaporating from our skin, not the actual droplets of sweat.
So next time you’re in the middle of a workout feeling like Niagara falls, embrace the body’s own cooling fountain!
References
- Dr. Bob Murray, 2010. Born to Sweat [Online]. Available at www.gomoji.com/education/born-to-sweat [Accessed 15th September, 2010].
- Slomianka, Lutz, 2009. Blue Histology- Integumentary System [Online]. Available at http://www.lab.anhb.uwa.edu.au/mb140/corepages/integumentary/integum.htm#sweat [Accessed 13th September, 2010].
Last updated 1/18/2011 10:13:38 AM
