Sweating can sometimes feel like a bit of a drag. It soaks our clothes through, makes us smell bad, and can feel slimy and sticky to the touch. Unfortunately, the process of sweating is an essential one that aids us in keeping our body cleansed of toxins, and also lowers our temperature when we’re hot.

Why Do We Need to Sweat?

Our body is made up of a large percentage of water. This liquid helps to move certain chemicals and nutrients around the body and between cells. Without water in our body, sodium and sugar would not be able to be used by our body. More importantly, the blood that keeps us alive would not flow. Basically, without water in our body, we would just dry up into a sponge-like crust. Finally, water is needed to control our body’s temperature.

 

 

 Our body needs to be kept within a certain balance. A little under and you may suffer from illness; too high and the same thing can happen. Doctors call this state of normal balance homeostasis. Our body temperature is one factor that needs to be kept at a set level for us to function normally. If you’ve suffered from a bad case of flu, then you know the feeling of a body that is too hot or cold.

So why does our body need to stay at a certain temperature? Most of the chemical reactions that take place all the time in our systems can only be done at about room temperature. These reactions are occurring only because our body’s temperature is being held within a narrow range.

Couple working out in a gymWhat is the Role of Sweat?

Sweating occurs when our body becomes too hot. It is a reaction to heat. Sweating is not the only way we cool down; our breathing also dissipates a lot of heat from the body. Strenuous activity speeds up a lot of the chemical processes going on in our body; this in turn raises the body temperature.

Luckily for us, we don’t have to consciously think about any of these processes. We are born with a biological system that is constantly seeking a balance. The temperature range in which humans can live is 37 degrees Celsius. We can survive for only a short time if this number goes up or down even slightly. As we heat up and more energy is produced in our body, sweat carries this excess energy up to the surface of the skin where it is carried away.

The mechanics of this cooling process are very complex. But as the excess energy leaves the body, it collides with other molecules outside and in a kind of domino affect loses its heat energy to other forces. This ultimately leaves you feeling cool and relaxed.

To keep your body at a cool 37 degrees Celsius, your body simply draws out the heat energy and throws it out through the pores in your skin. Hence, every time to exercise, you also sweat. The same sort of process can be seen when we breathe as well. As you exhale, your breath contains a lot of water, which is lost to the outside forces. Now when you think of sweating you should be grateful that our amazing biological systems have evolved such advanced cooling systems.

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