Some people will do anything to avoid sweating. Even if they do a workout, they do it half-heartedly, never really breaking a sweat. But sweating is actually good for you, and not just because of the many benefits that exercise brings. It can even help to heal the body. Whether you’re taking a walk on a warm-day, exercising, or sitting in a sauna, it provides multiple healing-effects.
Here are 6-reasons why you really need to sweat, each and every day.
1.Detoxification
An increasing amount of research has emerged in recent years, lauding the detox abilities of sweat. It helps to clear out all sorts of toxins, from heaving metals to persistent organic-pollutants. Eliminating those is important for your good-health.
2.Healing
Sweating help us to heal. In fact, science is just beginning to uncover the important role sweat glands play when it comes to healing all sorts of wounds. Sweat-glands, which are distributed throughout the skin, have been found in studies to contain stem-cells which are crucial for healing-wounds.
3.Endorphins
As the body produces its own uplifting chemicals that are known as endorphins, it is possible to raise these “happy-hormone” levels in the brain through sweating induced by exercise. Exercising, or simply being active enough to break a sweat is well known to increase endorphins. These are considered natural painkillers as they activate opioid receptors in the brain that help minimize discomfort. The effects of endorphins are so powerful, that they can even be more effective at fighting depression than an antidepressant
4.A Clearer Complexion
whether you workout or sit in a sauna, Sweating helps to open up your pores and get rid of dirt, grime and other debris. If that’s left to accumulate, it encourages bacteria to build-up in your pores, ultimately resulting in a breakout. Sweat carries with it the grime of what’s built-up in your pores and what’s on your face, and if it settles back into your skin, there’s high chance you might breakout.
5.Reducing the Risk of Kidney-Stones
Sweating helps to support healthy kidney functioning as well by eliminating some of the salt and calcium in your bloodstream. In turn, that reduces the amount of salt and calcium in your urine which can lead to kidney-stones. At the same time, the loss of water that results from sweating, whether you’re sweating because of summer heat or working out, leads to less urine production. The more you sweat, the less you urinate, which can allow stone-causing minerals to settle and bond in the kidneys and urinary tract. So while it’s important to sweat to reduce your risk of kidney-stones, it’s also important to drink plenty of water to avoid the opposite effect.
6.Fight Off a Cold or the Flu
Sweating has long been recommended for speeding the recovery of a cold or the flu, and studies have confirmed this, including one 2013 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which found that a natural-antibiotic is naturally activated in salty, slightly acidic-sweat.
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I this weeks Q&A I cover a question I get all the time from clients – do you need to be sweating during exercise for it to be a good workout?
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