It seems like common sense: if you leave a fitness class looking as though you’ve just ridden a log flume, you’ve probably worked harder than if you’re barely glistening. But that’s not always the case, says Adam Collins, a researcher from the Centre for Nutrition, Exercise and Metabolism at the University of Bath.
Sweating, he says, is part of the thermoregulation process. When your body temperature rises, it signals to your brain to sweat in order to cool you down. As the sweat evaporates, it helps regulate your core temperature.
One reason temperature rises is exercise. “When we exercise, the energy we produce to fuel that activity creates heat as a byproduct,” says Collins. The more intense the workout, the more heat is generated – and usually, the more you sweat. But sweat levels can be misleading.
It seems like common sense: if you leave a fitness class looking as though you’ve just ridden a log flume, you’ve probably worked harder than if you’re barely glistening. But that’s not always the case, says Adam Collins, a researcher from the Centre for Nutrition, Exercise and Metabolism at the University of Bath.
Sweating, he says, is part of the thermoregulation process. When your body temperature rises, it signals to your brain to sweat in order to cool you down. As the sweat evaporates, it helps regulate your core temperature.
One reason temperature rises is exercise. “When we exercise, the energy we produce to fuel that activity creates heat as a byproduct,” says Collins. The more intense the workout, the more heat is generated – and usually, the more you sweat. But sweat levels can be misleading.
