By Steve Roark
Volunteer, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.

Summer is my least favorite season with all the bugs, heat and humidity. With winter when it’s cold you throw on another layer of clothes and your good, but with summer you can run around buck naked and still be miserably hot just standing around. And then there is all the sweating, a particular negative in public, with the B.O. and wet spots on your clothes. Summer season is sweaty season, something I do not like. However, some personal research has revealed that I need an attitude adjustment, for it turns out sweating does the body good.

Everyone knows that we sweat to keep our body temperature from spiking, a condition called hyperthermia. We sweat through glands located in our skin, the largest organ we have. These sweat glands make our skin essentially a third kidney. When we sweat all over while doing outdoor activities on a hot day, it not only cools us off, but the sweat also carries toxins out of our body, which in turn boosts our immune system. Here’s a rundown of the benefits of building up a good sweat.

Sweating releases toxins such as alcohol and waste products, helping detoxify our body. Salt is also removed, which can help prevent kidney stones. Sweating increases the need to drink more water, which also helps with kidney stones. The pores of our skin open up while sweating, allowing a protective barrier to form against pathogens. Peptides produced by sweat glands act as natural antibiotics to fight off infection.

Research suggests other benefits. When your body heats up and sweats, neurons are released in the brain that improve your mood. Many studies have shown that good feelings can be generated by exercise and it looks like sweating is part of the puzzle. Different cultures around the planet have used ritual sweating for therapeutic benefits, for cleansing, and for spiritual and emotional healing. The Celtic vapor baths, the American native sweat lodges, and the Scandinavian saunas are old traditions that utilized sweat to feel better.

We were designed to sweat in order to endure the heat while gathering food, hunting, and eventually farming, and part of that design blueprint was to use sweat to keep the body healthy. So, while I don’t like it either, it looks like we all need to be out there sweating more. Just remember to hydrate and make some of that sweating for fun, like a good hike in the woods.