Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Sweating

Lots of women hate sweating. I don't hate sweating--it's the body's way of cooling down, and it works pretty well (thanks, God!). What I hate is humidity, and with good reason, I believe. See, this is what happens:

When it's humid, that means there's lots of moisture in the air. The higher percentage of humidity, the more uncomfortable it gets. We can't see it, of course, but it's kind of like millions of microscopic raindrops, magically suspended in the air.

Well, sweating is a blessing in disguise! When you overheat, your body flushes out that warmth through your pores in the form of moisture (a.k.a., perspiration). Then, that moisture evaporates into the air, taking the heat along with it and cooling you as it does so.

BUT! When it's humid, there's already so much moisture in the air that your perspiration has no place to go! The air is "full," so to speak--so your sweat has no choice but to sit there, all over your too-warm arms and legs and neck and face. Ick. Since it can't evaporate and cool you, you just remain too hot.

Moral of the story: Don't overdo it when it's humid, and be grateful for your body's natural AC system!

And that, my friends, is the biology/earth science lesson for the day. You learn all manner of amazing things when you have to teach them to junior high kids! :)



4 comments:

Shyla said...

not to mention the fro that ensues with humidity!!!

pamela s said...

or the flat hair-depends on what God has given you. :)
moving from extremely dry CO to extremely hot & humid PA was a shock to my system!

carissa said...

Thank you teacher for the lesson. That's great...now I can pass that on to some "pious college student" :) They'll think I'm so smart. (I'll give you the credit)

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