Eli5 why does the body sometimes sweat in situations other than heat? E.g. shock, anxiety, being poisoned, allergic reaction, heart disease etc? I thought the purpose of sweating was cooling down body temperature.
In: Biology
Sweating is primarily for temperature regulation, but it also happens with a significant adrenaline response. The fight or flight signals prepare the body for action. Starting to sweat before the running or fighting starts is a the body’s way of proactively managing what it expects to be a spike in body temperature.
Of course, biting into an habañero pepper or walking into a final you didn’t study for are not reasons you would need to be ready to defend your life or run away (depending on the nature of the test, I suppose), but to your adrenaline response, they are the same as being confronted with a physically threatening situation.
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