It’s safe to say that the majority of people try to avoid sweating. It can be sticky, uncomfortable, and inconvenient. This is especially true when it happens at bad times such as when you’re at work, at a family get together, or really any time you are out in public.
But believe it or not, there are actually many benefits of sweating and is something you should do more often.
The Benefits of Sweating and How to Sweat More
Now, we’re not saying you should be sweating all throughout the day—that would be pretty revolting, especially for those around you. What I do mean is that you should set certain times throughout your week to focus on activities that make you sweat.
These can include activities like running, playing sports, or relaxing in a sauna. So, what are the health and wellness benefits of sweating? In this article, we’ll tackle that question and a few other ones such as “what is sweat?” and “how to sweat more?” So, let’s start this discussion with the basics!
What is Sweat?
Sweating, which is technically called perspiration, is the body’s production of fluids that are released by our sweat glands. It does this as a way to regulate the temperature within our body and is totally normal.
For example, when our internal body temperature is too high, our nervous system sends signals to certain glands to secrete sweat through the skin. Our sweat works to cool us down as it evaporates on our skin through a process called evaporative cooling.
Sweat itself is made up of mostly water but also has sodium and other substances that are easily evaporable. There are also two different types of sweat glands. Every human has eccrine glands that are located throughout the entire body and release sweat onto the surface of our skin.
There are also apocrine glands. These kinds of sweat glands are attached to hair follicles, like on our scalp or underarms. This is why you tend to sweat more in your underarms when you work out or play a sport. How much a person sweats can be affected by a variety of factors. This includes genetics, age, gender, and weight.
For example, someone who is more overweight will likely sweat more than a person who weighs less because they have more body mass to cool down.
Your level of fitness also plays a role. If you work out or exercise often, you are more likely to sweat more during the beginning of your fitness routine as your body is preparing for longer and harder physical activity.
Another thing about sweat that you probably didn’t know; did you know that pure sweat is actually odorless? That’s right, odorless! Sweat gets that foul smell as it is released from the skin and absorbs other bacteria, not from the sweat itself.
When and Why Do We Sweat?
Different factors are able to initiate the process of sweating, though all of these factors aim to manage and reduce the temperature of our body. These can include: - External factors - Physical activity - Fever - Stress, fear, or anxiety
External Factors
This cause of sweat is relatively straight forward. External factors that lead to sweat mainly include heat or high temperatures. That’s why you tend to sweat on a hot summer day, even if you are just standing still.
High temperatures for longer periods can be dangerous as they can cause overheating or dehydration, so be sure to drink lots of fluids on a hot day!
Physical Activity
It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that physical exertion causes your body to sweat. This is because the energy it takes for our body to do strenuous activities raises our body temperature, leading to sweat.
Sweating a lot during exercise is completely normal. In fact, the absence of sweat during exercise would be a big problem, so don’t be alarmed if you sweat at higher levels during physical activity. Just be sure to drink plenty of water after your fitness session.
Fever
Sweating more while you are sick is totally normal. Any time your body temperature rises above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, you are considered to have a fever. Obviously, a rise in temperature causes us to sweat, so a fever can have this result, too.
When you do have a fever, it is really important to speak to a doctor who can give you the right guidance to reduce your fever and allow your body to return to its normal temperature.
Stress, Fear, or Anxiety
We’ve all been there. Whether it’s been before a final exam or a moment of danger, we’ve all felt those negative feelings that make us feel too warm inside. This is because these emotions can cause something called a psychogenic fever.
The word “psychogenic” basically means that a specific ailment is the result of a psychological factor rather than a physical one. This means that stressful or scary situations can cause our body temperature to increase, leading to more sweat to be released by our glands.
The Benefits of Sweating
As I said before, sweating is actually good for us. It’s a natural function of our body, and it offers a wide range of health and wellness benefits.
Just a few of these benefits that sweating can do are: - Eliminates toxins - Boosts energy and mood - Pain relief - Helps manage weight - Cleans skin Let’s take a closer look at each of these benefits!
Eliminates Toxins
Sweating is a great way for your body to eliminate harmful toxins. Toxins can be anything such as pollutants, chemicals, metals, or processed foods—definitely substances you don’t want in your body! This is just one reason why you should dedicate some time to sweating.
For example, a clinical study found that sweating has the ability to remove bisphenol A, or BPA, from the body. BPA has been known to have certain health effects on the brain and can cause your blood pressure to rise. Sweating is also able to remove other certain toxins, so be sure to take some time to allow your body to sweat them out!
Boosts Energy and Mood
Sweating, especially while working out or exercising, is beneficial to your mood and energy levels. This is partly due to circulation increasing due to physical exertion, but it also has a chemical effect on our body too.
For example, sweating is known to trigger the release of endorphins. Endorphins are the hormones that lead to positive feelings, so an increase of them will help you feel better and more energized throughout the day.
Pain Relief
We’ve already determined that sweating can lead to the release of endorphins, helping to boost your mood and energy. But endorphins are also able to offer other health and wellness benefits.
The other main benefit is relief for pain and discomfort. Endorphins are most often released when our body experiences pain. So, when you sweat, the release of endorphins has the same effect and can also help prevent pain altogether!
Helps Manage Weight
Managing your weight can be tricky business. It can often involve rigorous exercise regimens and restrictive diets. Luckily, sweating offers a helpful solution to help you on your weight loss journey!
This works because our body burns calories as it starts to cool itself down through sweating. Sweating also helps eliminate water weight inside of the body, too. So, sweating is definitely something that you should consider if you are trying to lose weight or manage weight.
Cleans Skin
Dermatologists are constantly looking for new ways to treat and clean skin. But there really isn’t anything better than sweating! It has been known for years that sweating, specifically from sauna treatments, is able to cleanse away dirt and other toxins in the skin that clog your skin.
It is also able to help improve circulation, giving your skin a healthy, glistening appearance. Who wouldn’t want that?
The Best Way to Sweat More
There are quite a few ways to help your body sweat more. These include longer workouts or exercising more often. And while these are great, they can often be time and effort consuming. Luckily, there is one solution that is amazing at helping you sweat more: far infrared therapy mats from us at HealthyLine!
The 360 Wrap Mat TAO&SOFT from HealthyLine
Since our founding, we’ve made it our mission to help millions of people achieve a healthier lifestyle. That’s why every single one of our InfraMat Pro therapy mats utilize far-infrared heat to warm the body, leading to a wide range of health and wellness benefits.
One of these benefits is sweating and detoxing the body. Far infrared heat is better than normal heat therapy because it is able to penetrate deeper into your body, allowing you to warm up from the inside. This is much more effective at slightly raising your body temperature (to a safe level) to allow you to sweat more.
Far infrared heat has also been studied and shown to temporarily relieve joint and muscle pain. There really is no other solution that allows you to sweat more while relaxing and improving your overall well-being—all from the comfort of your own home! See our selection of our Healthy far-infrared mats on this page!
Who Knew Sweating Could Be So Good for You?
Sweat and perspiration are something that people tend to avoid. I hope this article has given you some good information on the benefits of sweating and some pointers on how to sweat more.
While there are a number of ways to induce sweating, our far infrared therapy mats at HealthyLine offer you the best way to sweat. They also offer a wide variety of other health and wellness benefits, too. So, introduce the benefits of sweating today with HealthyLine!
