My Body Is Doing What!?

 

Why on earth am I sweating so much?

 

 

Sweating is a mode of Thermoregulation, which is defined as "The ability of an organism to keep its body temperature with certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different." Our bodies have to remain close to 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, anything above 104 degrees is considered a medical emergency. With such constraints on your body temperature, there has to be ways for your body to cool you down and keep you moving!

 

 

Here is a simple way to explain how sweat helps us cool down, put a dab of water on your arm and blow on it. It feels cool in that spot where the liquid was at. This occurs because of convection and evaporation. The liquid sweat on your body heats the air around it and transfers the heat into the air, and as the sweat evaporates it cools your body.

 

Another way your body goes about cooling itself down is through a process called vasodilation. Vasodilation is where the smooth muscle walls of the arterioles (small blood vessels in your body) relax to allow increased blood flow through your arteries. This redirects blood to the capillaries in your skin which helps reduce the temperature in your body (and also is a reason why when you are hot you looked red/flushed!).

 

 

Remember to replenish the water in your body lost by sweating! Hydration is important!