I didn't sweat today, can I skip a shower? The answer is unexpected

It's really hot recently. As soon as I leave the air-conditioned room, even if I go downstairs to pick up a package or go out to buy some vegetables, I will be sweating and sticky when I get home.

It is a basic consensus that you should take a shower when you sweat, which will make you feel refreshed and comfortable. But if you don’t sweat today, do you still need to take a shower?

Let me give you the answer first: Even if you don’t sweat noticeably, we recommend that you take a bath every day in the summer.

01 Why is it recommended to take a bath even if you are not sweating?

Our skin surface is almost covered with sweat glands, up to 2 to 4 million. Take the palms and soles of the feet as an example, there are 250 to 550 sweat glands per square centimeter of skin (about the size of an adult's little fingernail).

When we exercise, are in a hot environment or are emotionally excited, the sweat glands in our skin will secrete sweat, which then evaporates and dissipates heat to regulate body temperature and prevent overheating. At this time, you can clearly feel the sweat.

But in fact, even when we don't feel it, we are sweating all the time. This kind of sweating that we don't feel subjectively is called "invisible sweating".

Sweat contains many trace elements, such as sodium ions, chloride ions, potassium, vitamins and minerals, as well as other metabolites.

Especially in the armpits and private parts, there are special sweat glands, which we call apocrine glands. The sweat they produce is thick and oily, and contains protein, sugar and ammonia. With the "catalysis" of bacteria, it is more likely to produce sweat odor. If this sweat odor is more serious, it is what we call body odor.

Let's talk with data. Taking a normal adult male as an example, the body surface area is about 1.75 square meters. Studies have found that when the ambient temperature is 22℃, 27℃ and 30℃, the total amount of inconspicuous sweat per day in a resting state is 381 ml, 526 ml and 695 ml respectively.

In other words, even if you do nothing, your skin will quietly excrete about the amount of sweat as a bottle of drink every day.

Also, be aware that even if you don't sweat much, your skin is still exposed to environmental dust, dirt, and airborne pollutants.

In addition to the external environment, the bacterial content on the body surface will also increase, and the skin will naturally secrete oil and dead skin cells, which can accumulate on the body surface.

Therefore, even if there is no obvious sweating, it is still recommended to have a moderate bathing frequency to keep the body clean and meet basic hygiene requirements.

02 From a health perspective, how many times a day is best to take a bath?

For individuals, there is no definitive answer to the frequency of bathing. The south and the north each have their own bathing habits, and some southerners even find it unbelievable not to bathe for a day. There is no need to correct this cultural difference in concepts.

But from a health perspective, it is more recommended to take a bath frequently, preferably once a day.

Scholars once surveyed 617 people and divided them into two groups: one group took a bath seven times or more a week, and the other group took a bath less than seven times a week. The results showed that those who took a bath in a bathtub every day (or more frequently) felt better about their health and had better sleep quality.

There are many similar studies, and most of them believe that taking a bath not only has a cleansing effect, but also can improve sleep and relieve stress. This may also explain why we occasionally get inspiration after relaxing in a bath.

For older people, frequent bathing can also reduce the risk of disability and better prevent depression or cognitive decline. These benefits seem to be more obvious if you take a bath in a bathtub.

As for the specific mechanism, some scholars have proposed some hypotheses. For example, when taking a bath, the body will be passively heated, which can activate the heat-sensitive neural pathways related to emotional functions, thereby producing antidepressant effects and positive psychological effects.

For example, when the body is passively heated, it produces more substances called heat shock proteins, which have cell-protective, anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory effects, and may help improve or maintain a variety of health conditions in the human body.

In summary, not sweating does not mean that the body is clean and does not need a bath. Don't be fooled by your irrational self. Regardless of whether you sweat or not, it is recommended that you take a bath once a day, especially in summer.

So, did you take a shower today?

Author: Tang Jiaoqing, MD, attending physician of dermatology

Reviewer: Feng Jun, Deputy Chief Physician, Dermatology Department, General Hospital of Datong Coal Mine Group Co., Ltd.

Planning editor: Lin Yiyi

Editors: Yinuo, Linlin

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