Variation in perspiration
On a hot day, the sweat runs down your back in streams, while for another, not a drop of moisture can be detected even during an intensive workout. Sweating is very natural and beneficial, but not everyone sweats at the same effort. How did that happen? And can you learn to sweat?
The amount sweat that you produce depends on age and gender, among other things. For example, a child sweats less than an adult and women sweat less than men. Furthermore, it seems that whites and blacks sweat more than Asians, people from warm climates more than people from cooler regions, and trained athletes more than couch potatoes.
sweat glands
Sweating is a way of moving heat away from your body. The heat that is generated in the body – for example through exercise – is transported to the skin via the blood and leaves the body there. If you don’t cool down fast enough, the body activates the sweat glands. The evaporation of water removes even more heat from the skin. You cool down further.
You have an average of 2 to 4 million of these sweat glands. However, the number of sweat glands does not necessarily say anything about the amount you sweat. Not all sweat glands are (equally) active. For example, men have fewer sweat glands than women, but the male glands are more active.
Differences
The amount of heat you produce is an important cause for the difference in sweating. Children, for example, have fewer muscles and therefore less heat is released. Small, skinny children in particular are more likely to feel cold. Women often have relatively more fat and less muscle mass. Curves provide more evaporation surface.
The temperature at which the sweat glands become active also differs per person. For example, women generally only sweat at a higher body temperature than men. The menstrual cycle also plays a role in this: women get hot more quickly between menstruation and ovulation. Children and the elderly probably only start to sweat at a higher body temperature.
Learn to sweat
You can train the ability to sweat. You can activate sweat glands that are at rest by staying in the heat every day or by exercising regularly. The body then learns to sweat at a lower temperature and to sweat more. Someone who moves from a cold to a warm country will have the same sweating pattern as a local resident after about six weeks. Going to the sauna often is also said to help change the sweating pattern.
Sweating too little
Being able to sweat well is important. If the sweating starts late, there is a risk of overheating. And that can cause physical problems. At a high body temperature, the body performs a lot less. People who do not sweat as quickly or not so much are often less able to tolerate heat.
It happens that people have no sweat glands at all, for example due to the hereditary disease anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (AED). In addition to not being able to sweat and a high risk of overheating, people with this condition often suffer from dry eyes, sensitive skin, brittle nails and problems with the teeth.
Sweating too much
As important as sweating is, prolonged and heavy sweating is certainly not good. You then dry out. The body can process about a liter of fluid, you do not absorb more. In principle, you do not sweat more than a liter of fluid per hour, but some top athletes do succeed.
In about one in a hundred people, sweat production is so high that it is referred to as hyperhidrosis. You will experience real hindrance in daily life.
