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Effects of Perspiration

Whether it's because of the temperature, exercise or ingestion of spicy food, all people perspire. The main reason for perspiration is to regulate and maintain normal body temperature of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. For example, when exercising, body temperature rises, perspiration forms on your skin and evaporates, cooling the body down. All people perspire, and sweat has beneficial effects on your health.

  1. Glands Help Cool You Down

    • Signals from the brain encourage tiny sweat glands all over the skin to open up and secrete a liquid, known as perspiration, when your body temperature has been raised. Keeping cool is essential to avoid heat stress on the heart and brain functions.

      There are two types of sweat glands --- eccrine glands and apocrine glands. Eccrine glands are located over the entire body and produce a dilute salt solution that is odorless, but it can begin to smell if bacteria gets a chance to break down the stale sweat. Apocrine glands are located in limited areas, most notably the armpits. These glands produce a high volume of sweat and tend to begin to smell within an hour because of large amount of natural bacteria present in these areas that quickly breaks down and feeds on the sweat.

    Effects on Bacteria

    • Sweat contains a natural antibiotic that helps regulate the amount of bacteria that live on your skin. These bacteria are beneficial because they protects your body from harmful infections. Perspiration cleanses and regulates these bacteria, keeping them present on our skin for protection.

    Sweat Therapy

    • For hundreds of years, people all over the world have been practicing rituals focused around sweating, including the Finnish Sauna or the Indian Sweat Lodge. Some people use these rituals as a means of attaining a higher level of spirituality and for cleansing and healing purposes. Others use sweating rituals as a sexual aphrodisiac.

      Sweating in a sauna or any other method is great for your body. When participating in a sweating ritual, your heart rate elevates, and cardiac output is increased by 60 percent to 70 percent without moving a muscle. Research from Oklahoma State University has shown that some health benefits from participating in sweating rituals include the prevention of lung, heart and skin problems.

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