Healthytalk8 OVER VIEW
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Sweating is our defense line mechanism against unwanted bacteria, viruses, and parasites. And this helps your body stay cool.
It is commonly found under the arms, on the feet, and on the palms of the hands (1).
But if sweating profusely, it may be a sign of a medical condition or not.
The amount of sweat your body produces, tells you how many sweat glands you have.
Learn More About – Excessive Sweating
Here are some conditions, situations, and things that make you sweat.
Physical Exercise
Exercise is probably the most familiar and common to sweating.
In this case, sweating occurs due to movement that triggers your sweat gland to produce sweat.
Physical activity, whether it is running, or jogging, and other exercises like yoga, and resistance exercise.
When you do exercise, the body produces heat, which triggers the hypothalamus (which regulates body temperature), sending signals out through the nervous system to the sweat gland to produce sweat.
The more heat your body generates, the more sweat you produce, as result the breathing gets deeper, the heart pounds faster, and the faster you burn calories.
Remember, sweat drains your body fluid – so drink plenty of water, especially during hot days, and during exercise, which prevents dehydration, and possible risks.
Additionally, the mother of all sweat exercises is “Bikram yoga”, also known as hot yoga.
Heat and humidity
It works the same as during exercise. In heat conditions, the body increases temperature, which sends signals through the nervous system to the sweat gland.
During the rainy season or conditions, the humidity is on the higher side – which means – air cannot hold moisture further.
As a result, the body heats up. it is difficult for the sweat to evaporate and in high humidity conditions, we tend to sweat more (2)
- On Hot days – Heat from the body warms up the sweat, causing it to evaporate from the skin quickly.
- On humid days – Water in the form of sweat can’t evaporate from the body as fast. because this traps the heat near the skin, making you feel hot more.
Certain Foods and Drinks
Spicy food – Eating spicy food makes some people sweat profusely from their faces, this happens because this triggers the same neural response in the brain that activates temperature receptors.
Alcohol – Drinking warms the body, increases your heart rate, and dilates the blood vessels in your skin. which causes the body to release heat in form of sweat (3)
Coffee – This contains caffeine which speeds up the central nervous system, also known as a stimulant. which also interact with our sweat glands.
A study showed that caffeine increased sweating sensitivity through changes in the autonomic nervous system controlling sweat gland activity.
Garlic and Onion – This food contains allicin, which our body changes into sulfuric acid, now this compound interacts with bacteria on the skin, causing sweat, bad breath, and body odor.
Learn More – Food And Drinks That Related To Excessive Sweating
Smoking
It is also one of the main reasons for sweating more than normal because cigarette contains nicotine and nicotine give a signal to the body to release acetylcholine chemical.
This chemical causes sweat and also raises body temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate.
However, as we know that smoking is very bad for our overall health, which raises many medical conditions:
- Lung diseases like COPD, cancer, etc.
- Heart disease
- Diabetes
- Asthma
- Emphysema (causes shortness of breath) and many other diseases.
Caffeine and nicotine consumption make some people sweat more than other people. That is why men sweat more than women.
Pregnancy
Many women worry about sweating during pregnancy, don’t worry it is a routine part of the pregnancy experience. but how does pregnancy affect sweating?
When sperm meets egg, it confuses the hypothalamus (regulates body temperature), making it perceive heat, even on cold days, resulting, in triggering the body sweating reflex.
During pregnancy, your body goes through many hormonal changes:
- Increased metabolism
- blood flow
- Increased weight, these resulting in more sweating than normal women.
NOTE: During these 9 months, keep yourself hydrated, and eat enough fruits and vegetables which help your baby is growing.
You probably feel extra sweating in the first trimester, third trimester, and all periods.
But in the second-trimester hormones swings are pretty relaxed.
Learn More – Obesity, And Pregnancy, Is Any Relation B/W Them, Risk
Intercourse
S*x is a physical activity, just like running, and other exercises, it will increase heart rate causing increased blood pressure, and body temperature to rise, leading to sweating.
Sweating during s*x can actually be a good thing.
But at this time, the smell of sweat is also known to spike cortisol levels which gives more enjoyment.
During love, your body automatically releases two hormones – adrenalin and norepinephrine (the stress hormone).
The combination of these two hormones causes your overall body to sweat.
Intercourse is a good thing for reducing stress, and anxiety, and for certain diseases chances.
Diseases and illness
- Fever – In a fever, the body increase temperature, because the body tries to kill bacteria, after the fever breaks, you will feel hot and start to release sweat.
- Diabetes – This can also result in sweating because in diabetes nerves can be damaged.
So in some people, the damaged nerve controls the sweat gland switched on. this can result in hyperhidrosis.
When you get sick, you sweat because of infections, then the body stimulates the hypothalamus to increase muscle activity, which in turn releases more energy as heat.
That increases overall body temperature because, at this time, the body tries to get rid of our infectious agent, causing sweating.
An overactive thyroid can also open the sweat gland, And cancer, tuberculosis, and HIV may also reason for night sweats. if you more, consult your doctor.
Medicines Side Effects
Yes, medicine makes you sweat.
There are a variety of medicines that can affect the sweating response that acts centrally in the brain and in the peripheral nervous system (1).
Sweating can also be a side effect of a variety of prescribed medicines, however excessive sweating is a rare side effect of drugs.
Here are certain medicines which cause sweating:
- Pain killer
- Antidepressant medicines
- Migraine medicines
- Diabetes
- Anti-inflammatory drugs
- Blood pressure medications
Remember, if your medicines give you sweat more, then talk to your doctor, it may be a side effect, and the doctor can change the medicine and give you a suitable drug.
Anger
When you are angry, you reach your boiling point, – which means blood pressure, and heart rate increase Anger triggers the body’s fight or flight response.
Sweating is a common symptom of anger. Anger releases stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, which increase blood pressure, as a result, raise body temperature, and cause sweating.
Anger is a healthy emotion towards negative feelings. but too much anger can cause many situations. include:
- High blood pressure
- Digestive issue
- Heart attack
- Irritability
- Quick temper
- Stress
Menopause
Menopause, when your period stops, typically happens between the ages of 45 and 55.
During menopause, estrogen decreases, so in women, drastic changes in hormone levels can be seen such as body change, and excessive sweating – linked to hot flashes.
You can stop this by doing these hacks include:
- Stay cool, especially before night
- Keep your bedroom cool at night
- Wear lightweight cloth
- Take a cool shower, or drink, before bed
- Avoid spicy food, caffeine, alcohol, smoking, and another thing that easily trigger your sweat gland.
- Overweight women, reduce weight.
Anxiety, Or Nervousness
Sweating also occurs during the fight or flight response, which is stimulated by stressful events like proposing to a girl or boy and interviewing for a job.
This is because adrenaline stimulates muscle activity and causes blood vessels to widen, these two responses that increase heat and trigger sweating.
If anyone is new to dealing with stressful scenarios, their body will also produce sweat, because emotional stress and nervousness target the nervous system, causing sweating.
BOTTOM LINE
Sweating can also be a side effect of a variety of prescribed medicines like diabetes drugs, however excessive sweating is a rare side effect of drugs.
Anger releases stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, which increase blood pressure, as a result, raise body temperature, causing sweating.
