The Science Behind Sweating: Don’t Sweat It!

Most people have negative connotations with sweating- embarrassing stains, feeling sticky and the fear that others might perceive them as nervous or under stress.

The truth is your body is a marvel of nature and the 5 Millions sweat glands on your body are a testament to that! Sweating regulates the body’s temperature, expels toxins and helps maintain proper salinity levels. Realising these apparent benefits of sweating is the first step to viewing sweating as a positive and healthy function.

 Here is the WHAT, WHEN, WHERE & WHY of sweating:

1. WHAT

Sweat is 99% water. The remaining 1% contains carbs, proteins & urea (basically Nitrogen being expelled from the body).

Your body has 2 kinds of sweat glands- Eccrine and Apocrine. Eccrine sweat gland are distributed all over the body. They are always working- that’s right there never stop. Their primary function is to regulate the body’s temperature by transporting water to the surface of your skin,

The other kind of sweat glands are Apocrine glands which are located in certain parts of your body- your underarms being one of them. Unlike the Eccrine glands the Apocrine glands work only part time. Read ahead to learn what triggers them to sweat!

2. WHEN

The Apocrine glands “turn on” because of 4 common triggers-

i. Exercise
Exercise gets the body into overdrive and the body activates the Apocrine glands to release large quantity of sweat to rapidly cool down.

ii. Lack of Airflow
Lack of airflow creates a “hot” micro-climate in certain parts of the body. This conducive atmosphere triggers your Apocrine glands. Wear loose clothing that allows your body to breathe!

iii. Stress
When you stress you release adrenaline in your system which in turn activates your Apocrine glands leading to underarm sweating. Look at sweating as a powerful mindfulness tool which presents an opportunity to relax and get back in control of the situation!

iv. Weather
Step out into the hot sun on a summer morning and your Apocrine glands are immediately activated to keep your body temperature at a safe and controlled level.

3. WHERE

Your body has about 5 Million sweat glands working all day to keep your body sweating. The Eccrine glands are distributed all over your body and are “always on”. Your skin has about 650 Eccrine glands per square inch. The Apocrine glands are more densely packed but are located only on certain parts of your body- underarms being one of them.

4. WHY

Sweating is a critical and biologically important bodily function which regulates temperature, expels toxins and maintains salinity levels. Without sweating our bodies would simply overheat! Appreciate the marvel that your human body is and switch to Deodorants that prevent body odour without blocking sweat glands or the use of harmful chemicals.

Lineal is a benchmark beating deodorant formulated by the leading labs in the USA containing comprehensible ingredients like Fractionated Coconut Oil, Shea Butter, Beeswax, Arrowroot Powder and Vitamin E. Lineal works by eliminating odour causing bacteria on your skin and absorbing excess moisture to keep you dry without interfering with your body’s sweating mechanism.