It’s not always easy to determine what causes oversweating. However, stress has been clearly established as a contributing factor.
Summary
It is an immediate body reaction to an emotional stimulus such as fear, anxiety or pleasure. Experiencing stress can therefore trigger a sweating phenomenon on the entire surface of the body, but mostly on the face, in the palms of the hands, on the soles of the feet and in the armpits.
Heartbeat and sweating are just two examples of phenomena that are totally beyond our control. Sweating is managed by an autonomic nervous system, also called the neurovegetative system. It will release certain hormones, called catecholamines, in response to an emotional situation like stress.
Types of catecholamine include adrenaline, noradrenaline and dopamine. The levels in our blood increase and cause physiological changes, in particular over excitement of our sweat glands, responsible for sweat secretion.
A striking feature of sweating caused by stress is the speed at which it occurs, compared to sweating caused by heat or physical exertion. Unlike the sweating that serves to regulate body temperature, emotional sweating can be triggered regardless of the ambient temperature, in response to any stressful situation encountered in daily life.
Release of catecholamine stress hormones causes vasoconstriction, i.e. it reduces the diameter of certain blood vessels. Our body temperature is cooled instantly by the evaporation of sweat, also known as cold sweats.
Above all, you must talk about this with your doctor. There are lots of solutions, for example to limit the amount of sweat secreted.
