Sweat It Out: 3 Key Benefits of Sweating

October 14 2013

Sweat It Out: 3 Key Benefits of Sweating

Some people try to avoid sweating when they’re exercises and working out. Whether it’s at home or in the gym, though, sweating offers a number of important benefits that shouldn’t be overlooked. Sure, you may have to clean yourself off with a towel and reapply your daily dose of deodorant, but the benefits of sweating greatly outweighs these limited disadvantages. To learn more about the benefits of sweating, keep reading.

Benefit #1) Cools You Off

Sweating is the body’s natural response to over-heating. When you’re performing an intense bout of cardio or lifting a set of heavy weights, your core body temperature will naturally rise. In response, the body begins to release moisture through the skin to lower the body temperature.  As this sweat begins to release through your skin, the moisture cools your body. This is why you tend to feel more comfortable once you finally begin to sweat on a hot summer day.

Benefit #2) Expels Toxins

A lesser-known benefit of sweating is that it expels toxins in the body. Although you can’t see them, toxins are all around us; they’re in the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink, and even the ‘beauty’ products we use on our skin. Allowing these toxins to remain in your body can lead to a weakened immune system while leaving you vulnerable to illness. The good news is that you flush them out naturally by sweating. Some people fast or resort to these fad ‘cleansing’ diets to detoxify their bodies, but these typically do more harm than good. The truth is that there’s no easier or more effective way to flush toxins than by sweating.

Benefit #3) Weight Loss

Of course, sweating will also encourage weight loss. The human body is comprised of approximately 70% water; therefore, common sense should tell you that sweating will naturally help you lose weight. This doesn’t mean you’re going to instantly drop 15-20 pounds by spending an hour in the sauna. Along with proper dieting and exercise, though, sweating will help you achieve your weight goals.

So, how do you encourage more sweat during your workouts? There are a couple of things you can do, one of which is to wear the right clothes. Rather than wearing loose, light-fitted clothes, try wearing additional layers of cotton-based clothing. Initially, you’ll probably feel hot or even uncomfortable, but this goes away once your body begins to sweat.