Why Do We Perspire?

Do you ever wonder why humans sweat? You may know that it is a cooling mechanism that evolution has created for us, but why is it that water cools us down? This article will inform you of the many reasons why people sweat, how it works and it will also give tips on how to stop excessive sweating (also known as hyperhidrosis).

Our body has adapted to many different environments for our survival - we shiver when we are cold and we sweat when we are warm. So why is this? Surely when our body is already losing water and has a threat of dehydration perspiring is the last thing it wants to do?

The body releases both water and minerals to help cool the body down. This is done to create a protective barrier between our skin and the heat - water has a very high boiling point (100C) and the heat energy from your body (and the climate or sun whenever appropriate) is used to try and evaporate the sweat that your body produces. This means all of the heat energy is being wasted on your sweat resulting in your body becoming cooler. Many people assume perspiration cooled us down because the water in the sweat is cooler than our actual bodies, but this is not true because sweat comes from the inside of our bodies and so is the same temperature. There are around two - five million sweat glands in our bodies, so that every area of our skin can be protected and to maximise the cooling effect.

Sweating usually occurs during exercise especially intense sports (as the body heats up due to the energy being used), in hot climates or during emotional situations (the bodies temperature heats up when under stress). Your body naturally releases sweat when it feels that it needs to, it may sense an internal problem that makes it want to cool itself down (even if it isn’t heating up) and this can lead to unnecessary or excessive sweating.

Excessive sweating (also called hyperhidrosis) is when the body sweats too much. This can either be general hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating all over the body) or focal hyperhidrosis (sweating in specific areas of the body). General hyperhidrosis is usually caused by problems such as obesity, hot climates, illness and possible endocrine problems. Unfortunately, focal hyperhidrosis is usually caused by genetics.