Definition
Sweating is a sudden reaction of the body to regulate the body core temperature or as an additional symptom during shock symptoms. The body core temperature is about 37°C, below this temperature the body ensures an optimal performance of its tasks. It is regulated by parts of the nervous system that directly stimulate the sweat glands (known as the sympathetic nervous system). If the internal core temperature of the body exceeds 37°C due to excessive heat input or if the body is in shock, the sweat glands are stimulated by the nervous system to secrete fluid through the skin surface.
Causes
The causes that lead to sweating are either a deliberate release of heat by the body to regulate the body’s core temperature, or a reaction of the sweat glands to the extreme stimulation by the involuntary nervous system (here sympathetic nervous system) during a state of shock. By excreting fluid through the skin, the body not only gives off heat, but also cools the body from the outside at the same time, through the beads of sweat that form on the surface. The cause can be anything that stimulates the body to produce heat or to fight and flee (active sympathetic nervous system): sport, spicy food, increased immune defence (fever), hyperthyroidism, fear, danger, flight reaction and to ensure the survival of the body (state of shock).
All these situations and causes stimulate the involuntary nervous system to activate the sweat glands, among other things. Depending on the cause, additional metabolic reactions are stimulated more or less simultaneously. Not only the sweat glands, but also other organs are more or less stimulated in this way.
Thus, a sweat outbreak, in a dangerous situation, leads to cold sweats, while during sports the sweat is warm. This could be due to the fact that, depending on how strongly the sympathetic nervous system is activated. In a state of shock, small blood vessels in the skin are additionally closed, which then can no longer warm up the escaping sweat.
During sport or active exercise, the sympathetic nervous system boosts the energy metabolism and can trigger the outbreak of sweat when the desired body temperature of 37°C is exceeded. In case of excessive stress, e.g. during a scary event, the body’s stress reaction and thus its nerve endings at the sweat glands are activated. This stress reaction is controlled without our will, i.e. the sympathetic nervous system is not deliberately influenced.
A system that runs “in the background” so to speak, i.e. we perceive its functions only little or not at all. Whether we sweat or not, we cannot prevent it, because it is supposed to protect the body from overheating, whether we want to or not. and causes of hot flushesThe thyroid gland really gets our metabolism going.
It determines a large part of our energy metabolism and fires combustion processes of nutrients. If it is over-stimulated, as in the case of over-functioning, its stimulating drive often becomes a burden, as the organism then runs at full speed. Heat production is kicked in and those affected react very sensitively to additional heat from outside or in the case of other diseases.
This is why people with hyperthyroidism often suffer from sweating and increased sweating. Many people who sleep under a blanket that is too thick or at a high room temperature are affected by night sweats. Although this does not indicate an illness, it can disturb sleep and lead to tiredness and exhaustion the next day.
Night sweats can also occur as a side effect of some medications. The most common are psychotropic drugs, stimulants, tablets to lower high blood pressure or hormone preparations. To name a few specific preparations, these are e.g. antidepressants or neuroleptics, birth control pills, L-thyroxine for taking thyroid hormones and cortisone for inflammatory processes.
This can be particularly pronounced if the medication is taken shortly before going to bed. Unfortunately, there are also cancers, such as malignant skin tumors (malignancies), which can lead to night sweats. If fever and weight loss occur in addition, this should definitely be examined by a doctor.Luxury items such as alcohol, cigarettes, drugs can have a negative or stressful effect on the body during sleep, especially if they are consumed shortly before going to bed.
These can also lead to night sweats. The menopause (climacteric) describes the time transition from a woman’s full sexual maturity to the hormonal arrest of her ovaries. These can stretch over a whole decade and usually affect women from the age of 45 and end when they reach the age of 55.
Of course, these are individual processes that vary in duration and timing of the last menstruation (menopause) and are accompanied by symptoms to varying degrees. In simple terms, hormone production, especially that of estrogen, decreases, which means that new eggs cannot mature, jump or develop. This makes natural fertilisation/pregnancy impossible and other functions supported by oestrogen fail.
The deprivation of oestrogen also means that the body’s heat balance is not regulated properly. Therefore, estrogen deprivation very often leads to sweating and hot flushes. Women then sweat in situations in which they should actually feel cold, such as in winter under a thick winter jacket when it is freezing cold, or for no apparent reason, as the temperatures are objectively at room temperature.
Especially the time before menopause is characterized by sweating. What is perceived as pleasant at the beginning of the pregnancy can quickly become a burden from the middle of the pregnancy. The woman’s organism prepares for pregnancy as soon as the egg has been fertilized.
As a result, the body increases the performance of the cardiovascular system in order to improve the blood supply to itself and its organs. This is mainly noticeable in the skin of the feet, hands, legs and arms. This creates a pleasant warm feeling, which can turn into sweating after a few months of pregnancy.
This is because with each additional month as the child and its pregnancy-maintaining organs grow, more energy must be expended to set the woman’s body in motion. This leads more quickly to sweating, especially during active exercise. There are two reasons why eating can become a sudorific affair.
For most people, a hot meal is enough, while for others, really spicy food drives the beads of sweat to the forehead. The reasons for the outbreak of sweat must be considered differently, as they are perceived completely differently by the organism. That a hot meal makes one sweat is almost self-explanatory.
Everything which additionally supplies the body with warmth, although the body is already adjusted to a comfortable temperature (approx. 37°C), the organism wants to cool down as fast as possible and therefore starts to sweat – triggered by feedback mechanisms, which are switched on the level of the nervous system. The sweat glands are activated by nerve fibers and release heat via liquid to the outside, or cool the skin from the outside.
With spicy food it behaves similarly, but somewhat differently. Because, as is well known, spicy food is not a real taste experience, but a pain. The pain threshold is different for each person.
Pain stimuli in themselves cause the nervous system to be stimulated to stimulate the sweat glands, just as with heat. At the same time, some pungent substances trigger direct heat stimulation, such as the capsaicin in pepper, because they open channels of nerve endings that convey warmth. A cold is often accompanied by fever or vice versa.
The immune system is stimulated to destroy the causative viruses. This defense mechanism often triggers fever, depending on how hard the immune system has to fight. Fever is necessary to kill the pathogens that have attacked the organism.
But at the same time, fever also puts the body in an unfavorable position, as it can only function effectively at 37°C. The heat balance is disturbed, more energy is needed, the body wants to regulate the internal temperature down to be able to function fully. Especially with additional heat from the outside, strong sweating then occurs.
The sulphites in alcohol can occasionally lead to intolerance reactions. Incompatibility reactions can manifest themselves as outbreaks of sweating. However, this cannot be explained more precisely at the present scientific time.People who suffer from breathing difficulties at night (sleep apnoea) can aggravate these problems by drinking alcohol. If breathing stops, the body can also react to this by breaking out in sweat. Since alcohol consumption also stimulates the cardiovascular system and thus the blood circulation of the skin, even a small consumption can lead to sweating, depending on sensitivity.