Don’t sweat it

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Throughout my teenage years, I hated doing PE at school. It was a subject I feared most because I cared way too much about how I looked and what other people (specifically boys) would think. Looking back now, my feelings were all based on perfectionism and the frustrating thing is I could have excelled in PE if I had been focused on enjoying it and could have found my passion for health and fitness a little sooner.

So, what was it that I was so embarrassed about?

Getting sweaty.

We all sweat, some more than others. At the time though it seemed like I was the only one. My biggest insecurity was that my hair would get sweaty during PE, this would make it go naturally curly and in my head, straight hair was cool whilst curly hair was not. This later translated into being self-conscious in the gym and opting to train alone because I wouldn’t want anyone to see how sweaty or red-faced I’d get especially as I was doing a lot of cardio at the time.

We might sweat for many reasons, but exercise and physical activity are probably the most common. Sweating happens as a response to movement triggered deep inside our cells. Cellular respiration is a process that occurs as the cell mitochondria break down glucose in the presence of oxygen to form ATP; the energy currency of the cell. During exercise as your muscles work harder, they increase their energy demand.

The harder mitochondria have to work to supply your body with energy and as the cells break down ATP, they release heat. The heat stimulates temperature sensors throughout your body and those receptors detect the excess heat being produced by your muscle cells and communicate the information to the hypothalamus in the brain. The hypothalamus acts as your body’s smart control coordinating centre, its main function is to keep your body in a stable state called homeostasis, which includes regulating body temperature.

The hypothalamus responds by sending signals out through the sympathetic nervous system to the sweat glands in your skin. These are distributed all over the body with especially high concentrations on the palms of your hands, soles of your feet and your head. The water in sweat absorbs your body’s heat energy and then evaporates off of you when it reaches the surface, which in turn lowers your temperature.

Think of sweat as your body’s very own calibrator.

My insecurities about sweating are non-existent these days; I’ve learnt that it’s something I’m never going to have control over. Sweat is typically a sign of a good workout. It means your muscles have been working hard and is just another one of your body’s natural processes to keep you alive and healthy.

Don’t sweat getting sweaty.