Summer brings hot weather, making everyone uncomfortable and fatigued as temperatures rise. Under high temperatures, the differences among individuals become more apparent.
Some people step outside and start sweating profusely, becoming drenched after just a few steps. Conversely, there are those who seem to sweat very little; their bodies remain dry regardless of how much they exert themselves. Those who sweat excessively may feel envious, as sweating less seems more comfortable. Meanwhile, those who sweat less sometimes worry about whether there is something wrong with their bodies, wondering why they don’t sweat even in the heat.
People who sweat a lot are particularly sensitive to temperature.
How Sweating Regulates Body Temperature
Individuals who sweat a lot are especially sensitive to temperature; they can feel the heat as soon as it rises slightly. After walking just a few steps, they begin to sweat, and finishing a meal can feel like a sauna. But there’s no need to worry; sweating is a mechanism that enhances the body’s ability to withstand heat. Sweat is the body’s way of dissipating heat and maintaining temperature to prevent heat shock and heat stroke. The heat loss from a drop of sweat the size of a soybean is equivalent to cooling 1 liter of blood (reducing temperature by 0.5 degrees Celsius).
You can imagine the human body as a pot; as long as water continues to evaporate without boiling away, the pot will not burn. For those who enjoy sweating in hot weather, this is a pot with a more sensitive temperature control and more effective evaporation and heat dissipation.
Excessive sweating enables the human body to withstand extremely hot environments better than one might think. A study involved four long-distance runners walking briskly in hot, dry (square), humid (circular), and cool (triangular) environments. They walked for four hours, ate for half an hour, and then continued walking for an additional two to three hours. Body temperature, heart rate, and weight changes, specifically changes in water evaporation, were recorded hourly.
Sweat is the body’s way of dissipating heat and maintaining temperature to avoid heat shock and heat stroke.
The results indicate that during a “rapid march” in a dry and hot desert with temperatures reaching 49.6°C, the human body evaporated an average of 1.2 liters of water per hour. As long as they remained hydrated, anyone could survive the day in this environment.
In a hot, humid environment (with a wet-bulb temperature of 33.1°C), the sweating evaporation rate decreases, with only about 0.7 liters evaporating per hour. Although the environmental temperature is lower than in dry conditions, the body’s temperature rises more rapidly, even exceeding 39°C by the sixth hour, indicating that the body is nearing heat stroke. In simple terms: if you can sweat, you can endure heat better.
To put it simply: if you can sweat, you can handle heat better.
Most people may not push their limits by walking briskly in the desert, but they still have to work outdoors in extreme temperatures of 39-40°C… If you are sweating, your body is trying to save itself. The human body’s large air conditioning system, governed by sweat, can be considered a “limited human reward.”
Is Sweating More Beneficial?
Why do you sweat so much? Because your body feels hotter. Part of the heat is the body’s actual heat: the hotter the weather, the more heat the body generates, and the easier it is to sweat.
Active individuals, those with more muscle, overweight people, as well as teens, pregnant women, and those with a fast metabolism tend to sweat more easily. After exercising and working out, many find that they gradually become more heat-sensitive and sweat more. Sedentary individuals tend to feel cooler naturally and sweat less.
Part of the heat is the heat that the body perceives. The human body also has a temperature set by the temperature-regulating center in the hypothalamus. This temperature varies from person to person, as does the sensitivity of the brain and skin temperature, as well as the body’s ability to regulate temperature. Some people hardly sweat even in hot weather due to nerve damage, blocked sweat glands, etc. (anhidrosis).
The human body has about 2 to 4 million sweat glands.
These conditions of not sweating are actually due to the body’s regulatory functions being inadequate, making you more susceptible to heat stroke, which can even be life-threatening.
The human body has about 2 to 4 million sweat glands, and the number can vary from person to person. The ability to regulate body temperature also varies.
In addition to environmental heat, spicy food, severe pain, and intense emotions such as excitement can also stimulate the sweat glands. Sweating on the face, chest, and back is often due to heat, while sweating on the palms and soles primarily relates to emotions.
In general, sweating is a good thing as the body’s “air conditioning” operates effectively. Maintaining a healthy physique and engaging in more exercise can help improve the condition of “sweating” and prevent heat stroke.
