Why is sweat salty and not just pure water?
In: Biology
Water is attracted to salt. Where salt is there is water in the body. So to get the body to sweat the glands pull salt onto the area needed to cool. Then the water flows out because it attracted to the salt.
When you start to sweat, the first thing that happens is that the walls of the sweat gland pump salt into the chamber. As a result, the fluid inside the chamber becomes more concentrated with salt.
In order to balance out the new difference in salt concentration, water passes by osmosis into the chamber. As the water pressure increases in the chamber, the salty water is forced out through the narrow passage to the surface of the skin.
So, the point of salt is to help you sweat more water, which in turn helps cool you off more.
salt decrease the evaporation temperature of water so its easier for the sweat to evaporate and cool your off in the process
Water is a small molecule, and while slightly polar, can move relatively easily through cell membranes.
Your body controls movement of water by controlling movement of salt. Basically if you increase salt concentration on one side of the membrane the water follows. In order to push water outside your body, your body pushes salt towards the surface first.
This loss of salt is also why electrolytes are important to replace while playing sports. It helps maintain the salt/water balance in your body.
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