Kids Ask Dr. Lisa:
What Makes Us Sweat

Aired on Lifetime Television
Sunday, July 8 and August 26, 2007
Show 415

Michaela Powell:

Gabby and I like to exercise in the summer and we love biking...but I hate that we get all sweaty. Dr. Lisa, why does exercise make us sweat so much?

Dr. Lisa Thornton:

Well, there are a lot of things that make us sweat, like playing sports or getting nervous. So what happens is that when you get nervous or you exercise, the inside of your body starts to heat up. Your body has kind of a natural air conditioning, it wants to cool back down.

So you sweat, the sweat evaporates off your skin and your body temperature returns to normal. Now the important thing about sweating is that when you sweat, you're losing a lot of water, and you don't want to get dehydrated. So you need to be sure to drink a lot of water.