Why do we sweat when we get really scared? It doesn’t seem to have an advantage to me. Also, cold sweat really smells. If your enemy can smell that you’re scared shitless, doesn’t help with surviving, right?
In: Biology
Its part of the fight or flight response embedded in our sympathetic nervous system. During stressful situations (any kind of stress), adrenaline and cortisol is released to enhance the function and stability of the many processes related to the fight or flight response. eg we sweat when stressed to pre-emptively increase heat dissipation (the main purpose of sweating) to offset the increased metabolic activity required for flight or fight responses.
As for evolutionary reasons why its persisted, I’d wager that the benefits and protections offered by the fight or flight response overall offer a higher chance of survival than the negative olfactory (smell) effects of sweating
Latest Answers