Saunas, sweat, thermoregulation

Batman

Batman

Orthodox Inquirer
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This is kind of a general topic that I want to open up to discussion because I have these discussions with people and it baffles me.

I'll just share my experiences and feel free to comment or share how they differ with you.

First off - I drink plenty of water and will drink potassium chloride and iodized sodium before workout to make sure my electrolytes are plentiful. Despite this, I don't really sweat much. I don't even need to shower after the gym or change my clothes. And here's the crazy part, I barely sweat in the sauna either. Every time I get in sauna, I see everyone leave massive puddles (even when they're only in there for 10-15 minutes). Even if I stay in it for 30 minutes and chug water, I will barely leave a trace of sweat. On the flip side, I also seem to have insane cold tolerance. I like to sleep in a room that's 60 degrees in nothing but my boxers and very thin/minimal bedding.

Don't know what any of this means but I'd be curious to hear if anyone else experiences this and what the implications are. This could be a genetic thermoregulation superpower/metabolic thing but it baffles me. I've had my thyroid levels checked numerous times and it's always normal. On eother possible explaination is that people are are not consuming enough electrolytes to retain water. If you drink too much water without enough electolytes your body will flush out the water in your body rapidly.

It's actually rather frustrating because it pretty much means I cannot do sleepovers with woman I date.
 
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Are suffering any adverse effects from this or is it just something you're trying to determine if other people are the same?
 
FrancisK said:
Are suffering any adverse effects from this or is it just something you're trying to determine if other people are the same?
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The latter. I've never found anyone who has experienced of these issues to this extent, let alone both issues. Doctors just shrug when I tell them.

The sleep issue is particularly frustrating. I literally turn off my heat all winter and open the windows. During the summer my electric bill is upwards of $200-300 from May-Sep for my 1BR apartment. If it's not sufficiently cold I simply cannot fall asleep the entire night and like I said, it causes serious problems with girls I date.

And the sauna thing isn't a problem obviously but it helps give further context - it's quite strange don't you think?
 
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What is your normal core body temperature and resting heart rate? Have you ever sustained a serious head injury?
 
Batman said:
The latter. I've never found anyone who has experienced of these issues to this extent, let alone both issues. Doctors just shrug when I tell them.

The sleep issue is particularly frustrating. I literally turn off my heat all winter and open the windows. During the summer my electric bill is upwards of $200-300 from May-Sep for my 1BR apartment. If it's not sufficiently cold I simply cannot fall asleep the entire night and like I said, it causes serious problems with girls I date.

And the sauna thing isn't a problem obviously but it helps give further context - it's quite strange don't you think?
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Everyone has a different body, whether it's slight differentiation or an outlier. Something to do with the thyroid would be my guess but if you're otherwise healthy I understand why docs would shrug it off.
 
Batman said:
Not sure but it's within normal range. Resting BPM is around 50-55. And no.
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A low resting heart rate like that is usual a sign of excellent physical fitness, along with low blood pressure, like 110/75. My wife had low HR and BP, and she rarely sweated. However, she was cold natured and liked to bundle up.

It seems unusual that you are both resistant to cold and resistant to overheating, but it sounds like maybe you're just blessed.
 
Thomas More said:
A low resting heart rate like that is usual a sign of excellent physical fitness, along with low blood pressure, like 110/75. My wife had low HR and BP, and she rarely sweated. However, she was cold natured and liked to bundle up.

It seems unusual that you are both resistant to cold and resistant to overheating, but it sounds like maybe you're just blessed.
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My blood pressure is solid too. I don't think of myself as being in great shape though. I recently went on a high elevation hike in the mountains and I was the most winded of our friend group by far. I'm also horrible at jogging. Who knows. I guess it could just be a simple genetic superpower.
 
Batman said:
This is kind of a general topic that I want to open up to discussion because I have these discussions with people and it baffles me.

I'll just share my experiences and feel free to comment or share how they differ with you.

First off - I drink plenty of water and will drink potassium chloride and iodized sodium before workout to make sure my electrolytes are plentiful. Despite this, I don't really sweat much. I don't even need to shower after the gym or change my clothes. And here's the crazy part, I barely sweat in the sauna either. Every time I get in sauna, I see everyone leave massive puddles (even when they're only in there for 10-15 minutes). Even if I stay in it for 30 minutes and chug water, I will barely leave a trace of sweat. On the flip side, I also seem to have insane cold tolerance. I like to sleep in a room that's 60 degrees in nothing but my boxers and very thin/minimal bedding.

Don't know what any of this means but I'd be curious to hear if anyone else experiences this and what the implications are. This could be a genetic thermoregulation superpower/metabolic thing but it baffles me. I've had my thyroid levels checked numerous times and it's always normal. On eother possible explaination is that people are are not consuming enough electrolytes to retain water. If you drink too much water without enough electolytes your body will flush out the water in your body rapidly.

It's actually rather frustrating because it pretty much means I cannot do sleepovers with woman I date.
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Maybe it's just because I'm brown, but no amount of heat seems to bother me and I've never gotten a sunburn, even though I never wear sunblock. The cold does bother me very easily, though.

I also drink tons of water, although now that you mention it I don't take care of my electrolytes at all. I need to start doing that.
 
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I remember watching Zulu, thinking those Brits in uniforms, in South Africa of all places, were handling the heat and sweat well. I started sucking up to the one where I live. Turns out the weather in that area is 8 degrees colder than my city.
In general I sweat like a pig here. Just 10 minutes outside is enough to quench the thirst of an entire African country.

I wanted to make a thread a while ago on vitamin D / sun exposure. I've been going to beaches since the second semester of last year. I put a ton of sunscreen, yet I still get a few burns when not paying attention. I'd look like a shrimp all the time at school as a kid, from the times I went to the beach. My hands seem to have gotten a bit of a tan, but when I took off my shirt last time, my father claimed I was eclipsing the sun.
 
Unending Powerhouse Match said:
Maybe it's just because I'm brown, but no amount of heat seems to bother me and I've never gotten a sunburn, even though I never wear sunblock. The cold does bother me very easily, though.

I also drink tons of water, although now that you mention it I don't take care of my electrolytes at all. I need to start doing that.
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Low electrolytes do lead to increased risk of heat exhaustion. Many old people actually die because they all seem to be gaslit into thinking sodium is poison. I would think that electrolytes can increase cold tolerance as well so I'd be curious how you feel. But protein is by far the most important for producing body heat.

For anyone wondering, you can just take 1/4 tsp of sodium and 1/4 tsp of potassium chloride (ie salt substitute, dirt cheap) in a glass of water on an empty stomach. I've taken up to a full tsp (2g) of sodium and potassium at once though and I was fine. They say you aren't supposed to take more than 500-1000mg of potassium or you can have heart arrthymias. If you want to play it safe, take it with meals and you'll be fine. You can take a lot more sodium than potassium too without much risk. So just experiment.

There's also calcium, magnesium, and a couple others I'm forgetting but they don't matter as much for thermoregulation and all that. That said, everyone should be taking magnesium already.
 
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Can the weather not cause me to wake up sweating or freezing at the early morning for once in my life? I believe it would be quite beneficial.

Sweating is a given, but freezing is caused by air conditioners or sometimes fans. Gets wayy worse, almost intolerable, if you catch a fever or a cold, but whatever mang.

7 hours sleep is 7 hours sleep.
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