No Sweat!

An environmental humanities expert said that sweating keeps us alive, releasing heat that would have killed us otherwise.

18:15 21 July 2016

Sweating profusely during summer season is very common but it reveals a simple and fascinating truth about our species – it is the reason we still exist as it allows the release of heat that would have otherwise killed us. Although many animals perspire, no other species use it as an efficient and refined cooling technology.

 

An environmental humanities expert, Vybarr Cregan-Reid, wrote for The Conversation to explain how sweat works and why we owe it so much. Being able to maintain effective working temperature through sweating allows us to keep moving and keep thinking while in motion, setting us apart from other species.

 

Being two-legged offers many advantages. Being merely upright for example, means that less of the sun hits you when it’s at its hottest. Also, this takes advantage of the fact that our brains are further away from the harsher micro-climate at ground level.

 

Although sweating is very crucial to our existence, it is still considered taboo in our society. If it happens in the wrong place and wrong time and from the wrong part of the body, people around you will become uncomfortable. However sweating in the gym is highly acceptable, highly encouraged even.