It’s hard to believe that the biology of sweaty armpits might be one of your body’s more ingenious ways of taking care of itself. Sweat is often the cause of unwanted side effects like body odor, damp marks on clothing, and that not-so-fresh feeling. However, sweating is an important, natural bodily function.
From head to toe, the human body is constantly sweating, even when you don’t perceive it. The average person can produce a quart of sweat a day! It’s our body’s natural way of cooling us down so we don’t overheat. Our internal thermostat, the hypothalamus, controls the process. When the hypothalamus realizes that the body’s temperature is too hot, the body does two things:
It increases blood volume at the skin surface where heat can dissipate.
It begins to sweat, and as sweat evaporates, it decreases the temperature of the body.
That second part is carried out by the up to 5 million sweat glands that are all over your body. But the sweat that comes from these glands isn’t all the same. Did you know that our bodies have two types of sweat glands and that there are three different types of sweat?
Located all over your body
Excret sweat to skin surface when you are HOT or ACTIVE
Sweat contains salt and water
Located at hairy body sites, including underarms
Excrete sweat near hair follicles only when you are STRESSED
Sweat contains fat, protein, and water
Managing sweat when you’re hot or active is kind of a no brainer. You can choose to stop moving, grab a cool drink, or run the AC! Now let’s double click on stress sweating. When we experience stressful situations, the body releases hormones that increase blood pressure and heart rate. Typically, when the stressor goes away, stress hormone levels return to normal and so does blood pressure and heart rate. The stress response can result in a sweat rate 5X higher than normal! And with stress sweat comes stress odor. Why? Stress sweat odor smells the worst because it contains food for the bacteria on our skin. When bacteria consume the fat and proteins in stress sweat, they produce foul-smelling gases that we perceive as body odor.
No! That’s actually a myth! Sweat helps regulate body temperature. Some people believe that you eliminate toxins in your sweat, but sweat is a combination of water and salt, fat, or proteins, NOT toxins. Our bodies eliminate toxins through the kidneys, liver, and intestines—which eventually exit the body when we use the restroom.
Eccrine glands produce sweat when you are hot or active.
Apocrine glands produce sweat when you are stressed.
Sweating does not release toxins from the body.
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