Perspiration is a sensation that many people probably dislike, and oftentimes you may even find yourself actively avoiding it. However, there are actually quite a few reasons why sweating is good for you. Besides being an essential bodily function that is crucial to your temperature regulation, there are many health and fitness benefits associated with increased sweat production. In this blog, we’re going to break down for you not only why you sweat and what makes it so good for you, but also how you can increase your sweating in workouts and other regular daily life activities.
Reasons Why You Sweat
There are two main pathways your body uses to produce sweat. The first is through eccrine glands, which produce sweat in response to increased body temperature during physical activity. The second is a reaction to emotional stress, fear, or anxiety, and comes from a different type of gland: the apocrine glands, which surround hair follicles all over your body.
Fun Fact: Sweat produced by the apocrine glands tends to have an unpleasant odor, whereas sweat from the eccrine glands does not!
Why Sweating During Exercise is a Good Thing
When working out, you’ll hear a lot about inflammation that is spurred not only by your metabolism but also by your cardiovascular fitness regime.
There are many benefits of sweating while working out, including:
- Improved circulation around your vital organs, tissue, and muscles.
- Release of unwanted toxins and from the bloodstream your skin.
- Unwanted salts (which can lead to kidney stones) are purged from your body.
- Sweat forms a protective barrier on your skin’s surface which prevents bacteria from invading.
- Your heart rate increases which keeps blood traveling to your muscles, so the muscle contractions during workout strengthen.
- New healthy protein production is triggered which helps reduce inflammation in the body.
- Likelihood of injury due to strain or improper warm-up is reduced.
Additional Health Benefits of Sweating
Increased Immunity
Lately everyone is focused on ways to boost their immunity naturally. Research shows that peptides that are produced by the body’s sweat glands act like antibiotics and battle infection. Interestingly, viruses and other germs do not appear to develop a resistance to the body’s natural antibiotics in the way that they do to pharmaceutical alternatives.
Full Body Detox
Many people seek natural ways to detox their body and remove environmental toxins using smoothies, cleanses, or detoxification formulas. However, research shows that toxins actually leave the body naturally every time you sweat. Specifically, through sweating, you can reduce unhealthy cholesterol levels, and eliminate alcohol, salts, and toxins such as phthalates (found in paint and cooking utensils) from the body.
Cleansed Skin
Every time you sweat, your pores open and start to immediately release unhealthy and dangerous bacteria from your body. Sweat purges these toxins and bacteria from the skin while unclogging pores. Many people mistakenly believe that sweating leads to an unwanted bout of acne, but in reality the opposite is true. In fact, if you shower after sweating then you’ll actually remove unwanted bacteria which was formerly buried under the skin’s surface, which will ultimately help prevent breakouts.
Improved Mood
Feeling down and depressed? Don’t turn to drugs or booze to uplift your mood, instead try good old-fashioned sweat. Yes, sweating during exercise has been shown to reduce the symptoms of depression. When you begin to work hard and sweat during physical activity, endorphins are automatically released within the brain that helps to dramatically improve your mood and leave you feeling great all day.
Increased Libido
You might not feel especially attractive after hitting the gym hard, but studies have shown that chemicals found in your sweat (androstadienone) increases the hormone levels of those around you, improving your attractiveness to the people around you. Additionally, your own libido is shown to be boosted through consistent workouts and sweating.
Improved Liver Health
A good session of sweating is great for your liver. Through physical activity, your body will secrete unwanted waste via your sweat glands, which is especially true for cardio exercise. As a result, your liver health will improve by working less to filter out physical toxins. Yes, after your workout you might feel sticky, but remember that sweating out toxins improves your overall health and keeps your liver from facing potential alcohol related damage if you frequently drink too much.
Excessive Sweating Indicates a Good Workout
The harder you work out, the more you sweat. If you sweat heavily several times a week while you exercise then you can rest assured that your workouts are challenging and you are actually benefiting your fitness level. However, be careful not to overexert yourself because excessive exercise can be dangerous to the body. Remember to build your fitness slowly over time by increasing your level of workout and exercise time in small increments.
Stop working out if you feel the following:
- Faint
- Fatigue
- Sore
- Dizzy
- Difficult time breathing
How Can You Increase Your Sweat Production?
So, you want to enjoy the many health benefits of sweating? Well, you’ll have to come up with new ways to encourage your body to sweat.Here are a few of our favorite ways to increase sweating:
- EXERCISE OUTDOORS - Exercising outside is a great natural approach to working out. The sunlight and vitamin D are good for you, and the increased heat will encourage sweating.
- HEAT ROOM - Try exercising in a heat room to promote sweating. Remember to take it slow and stay hydrated.
- SAUNA - A sauna promotes a full body sweat without working out. In fact, saunas have been used for centuries to spur sweating for detoxification. Saunas are believed to release cellular toxins and kill viruses.
- SAUNA VEST OR SUIT - At Kewlioo, you can purchase a sauna vest or suit to concentrate heat and maximize sweating during workouts or even throughout regular daily activities. Enjoy increased sweating and the associated health benefits in your home or at the gym.
If you would like to learn more about Kewlioo sauna vests or suits to better enjoy the health benefits of sweating then please explore our heat trapping and other fitness attire product lines. There are a huge variety of different products available so we can ensure that we meet your unique needs.