Whether you are exercising in warm weather or in a steamy gym, you are more at risk for overheating. Learn how heat affects your body, and get tips for staying cool when it is warm out. Being prepared can help you safely work out in most conditions. Your body has a natural cooling system. It is always working to maintain a safe temperature. Sweating helps your body cool down. When you exercise in the heat, your cooling system has to work harder. Your body sends more blood to your skin and away from your muscles. This increases your heart rate. You sweat a lot, losing fluids in your body. If it is humid, sweat stays on your skin, which makes it hard for your body to cool itself. Warm-weather exercise puts you at risk for heat emergencies, such as:
Children, older adults, and obese people have a higher risk for these illnesses. People taking certain medicines and people with heart disease also have a higher risk. However, even a top athlete in superb condition can get heat illness. Try these tips to help prevent heat-related illness:
Know the early warning signs of heat exhaustion:
Later signs may include:
Signs of heatstroke may include:
As soon as you notice early signs of a heat illness, get out of the heat or sun right away. Remove extra layers of clothing. Drink water or a sports drink. Call your health care provider if you have signs of heat exhaustion and do not feel better 1 hour after getting away from heat and drinking fluids. Call 911 or your local emergency number for signs of heatstroke. Heat exhaustion; Heat cramps; Heatstroke Updated by: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine, UW Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. Overheating occurs when your body’s natural cooling system can no longer regulate your body temperature. Your body’s temperature rises during exercise. Combine this with hot, humid conditions, and you have a recipe for overheating. Heat exhaustion, characterized by weakness, muscle cramps, extreme thirst, dizziness, nausea, headache and pale skin, should be addressed immediately. Gone untreated, heat exhaustion can lead to the life-threatening condition heat stroke. Body TemperatureNormal body temperature varies between 97.7 and 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit. When you exercise, your body produces heat due to the increases in muscle contraction. Core temperature can rise as high as 104 degrees Fahrenheit. If you exercise in hot conditions, exercise and the environment both cause a rise in your body temperature – potentially leading to overheating. SweatingThe hypothalamus, located in the brain, works as your body’s thermostat by sending messages to different systems in the body to regulate temperature. When your body temperature rises due to hot weather, the body is signaled to increase the sweat rate to cool off. If the humidity is high, sweat doesn’t evaporate efficiently, causing a further increase in body temperature and potential overheating. DehydrationA hot environment can cause you to sweat more than normal, so you lose more fluids. When you are low on fluids, your body cannot perform optimally. When you are dehydrated by just 2 percent, your performance begins to decline, notes a review in the “Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology” published in 1999. One hour of exercise can result in a loss of more than a quart of water. If you do not replace these fluids, your body cannot cool itself through perspiration – resulting in dehydration and overheating. AcclimatizationIf you regularly train in the heat, your body responds by increasing the amount of sweat you produce during exercise and by turning on the signals to start sweating sooner. "Triathlon Magazine Canada" notes that your blood plasma volume will also increase, supporting your higher sweat rate and reducing stress on the heart – so you can go longer and harder in the heat. If you are not accustomed to training in the heat, you are more likely to become overheated when exerting yourself. If you are not acclimatized, you will lose twice as many electrolytes, which regulate muscle contraction, and fatigue sooner; your body will not be able to maintain an adequate rate of perspiration. References Writer Bio Andrea Cespedes is a professionally trained chef who has focused studies in nutrition. With more than 20 years of experience in the fitness industry, she coaches cycling and running and teaches Pilates and yoga. She is an American Council on Exercise-certified personal trainer, RYT-200 and has degrees from Princeton and Columbia University. Image Credit Digital Vision/Digital Vision/Getty Images |
Why do I overheat so easily when exercising
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