why do we get sweaty palms if we’re doing something dangerous like climbing? Isn’t that counter-productive?

Question

why do we get sweaty palms if we’re doing something dangerous like climbing? Isn’t that counter-productive?

In: 3370

Answer 1

When we are in stressful situations our sympathetic nervous system kicks in and we experience those physical symptoms we associate with stress.

If we are walking in the woods and encounter a bear, we’ll either fight, flight (run away), or freeze (play dead). Whether fighting or fighting, for example, we’ll see our heart rate increase and our hands/feet get colder as our bodies focus blood flow to the core and brain to maximize survival.

We sweat so if we are fighting with the bear, we’ll be slippery and harder for the bear to hold onto and throw around. As you noted, this is not really adaptive in every scenario.