Stay dry and smell good with this breathability guide.
The sweat has a bad reputation, but it is a fluid finely calibrated with many vital functions. It cools, hydrates the skin, and contains antibacterial compounds to prevent infection. Each of your sweat glands is surrounded by a network of nerves. When your body heats up, the nerves start a chain of signals to turn on the hose. Here is everything you need to know about sweat, where it comes from, what it’s made of, and how to stay odor-free.
REDUCE YOUR SWEAT
Armpits
Aluminum-based antiperspirants clog pores to curb sweat. Apply it at night, when your sweating rate is at its lowest level. If your armpits are very hairy, a spray or roll-on may work better, says doctor Bruce Brod, a dermatologist at Penn Medicine.
Hands
Your palms are among the most important sources of sweat. If they are constantly wet, you may need Botox injections to block the nerve signals that stimulate sweating.
Groin
Wear baggy pants for air to circulate.
Feet
Each of your feet can fill a glass of sweat water a day. Apply some antifungal talc-like this.
THE ORIGIN OF BAD ODOR
Perspiration by itself does not make you stink. The sweat regularly is essentially odorless, but when bacteria appear, odorant molecules are formed.
1 / Stress sweat
If you’re under pressure, your glands start to leak a thick fluid that typically gives off a strong odor.
2 / Oil
This flows from sebaceous glands, abundant in the scalp and in the armpits. This bait is then mixed with sweat.
3 / Diet
Some molecules in food (like garlic and curry) can end up in your bloodstream and reach the sweat glands.
4 / Dead skin
It is the appetizer of germs. In areas with rubbing folds, dead skin can shed and feed bacteria.
FUN FACTS
2 to 5 million
Number of sweat glands found on the body’s surface
Up to 2 liters
The amount of sweat you lose when exercising. Drink half a liter of water for every kilo and half of weight you lose when training.
0.6 to 2.3 liters
Average amount of sweat a person produces daily.
What’s in your sweat
99% water
1% The rest: urea, uric acid, lactic acid, ammonia, vitamin C, electrolytes, and more than 760 different skin proteins.
STAY COOL
These tricks will refresh your training. (Stop if you feel dizzy or weak.)
1 / Chill palms
Hold a bottle of frozen water. Change hands every five minutes. The cold tissue will refresh the blood flowing to it, says Stanford biologist Craig Heller.
2 / Rinse
It carries mouthwash, in presentation for trip. Menthol makes you feel the freshest air, says Dr. Christopher Stevens, a researcher at the University of Southern Cross.
3 / Ice on the neck
A cooling collar can trick your body and brain into feeling colder. Ultramarathon runner Pete Kostelnick recommends putting an ice-filled scarf around his neck.