Sweat Happens

If your mom told you that women don't perspire but merely "glow," she was all wet. Here's how to manage the moisture (and the stink).

- GINA WAY

Our bodies' propensity to perspire serves a purpose: It keeps you from literally melting down. “Sweating is your builtin air-conditioning system that helps prevent your body from overheating,” explains Mona Gohara, M.D., a member of Prevention’s Medical Review Board and a clinical professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine. “When your internal temperature rises due to heat, exercise, stress, illness, or even eating spicy foods, sweat glands release fluid onto the skin, and it cools you as it evaporates.”

The reason your temp spikes when you're anxious or scared has to do with the body's fight-or-flight reaction: Stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol rev your metabolism, activate your muscles, and spur sweat glands to open the floodgates. Other hormonal changes, such as estrogen fluctuations that happen during pregnancy or perimenopause, can also trigger vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats.