this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2024

87 points (85.4% liked)

Showerthoughts

29233 readers

599 users here now

A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The best ones are thoughts that many people can relate to and they find something funny or interesting in regular stuff.

Rules

All posts must be showerthoughts
The entire showerthought must be in the title
Posts must be original/unique
Be good to others - no bigotry - including racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, or xenophobia
Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

If you're sweating in a hot shower, you can't tell (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

39 comments fedilink hide all child comments

all 40 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] [email protected] 78 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Oh buddy you absolutely can tell

[–] [email protected] 24 points 2 weeks ago

I’ve had showers where I feel like I’m out watering the shower

[–] [email protected] 32 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

OP... Have you ever actually taken a shower? Because this is not true at all.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

This is Lemmy

[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 weeks ago

OP just revealed to us that they have never taken a hot shower in their whole life.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

I'm surprised how many people feel they can differentiate steam moisture and sweat on their skin.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

The process of sweating is one you can feel, beyond just the sensation of moisture. I'm more surprised that there are people who can't feel the difference.

Also, sweat has a much different consistency than water.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

TIL a lot of people can't feel themselves sweat if they're in the shower.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Maybe they don't take hot enough showers? I don't always sweat, but for sure I've noticed more from taking hot baths

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

It’s not about sweating. It’s about feeling oneself sweating.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

I'm a warm, sweaty person. Maybe I sweat too often to notice it's happening. I do great in winter though and don't complain about 90F+ days under 20% humidity. Sadly, I live where summers are 90/90

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah I don't really feel the difference either. Intriguing. Whether I'm wet from the shower or from sweat, it feels about the same to me. It's only after it's drying that there's an obvious difference to me

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

That was my take that prompted the post, but now a little logic is kicking in. Is my skin actually cold enough to condensate steam? I do not know

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 weeks ago

Yes I can.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

As bullshit as "you can't feel yourself sweat in the pool"

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I cannot feel myself sweat in a pool

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Then you aren't swimming/working out hard enough to sweat.

Also It's not that you feel yourself sweating, it's that you feel the sweat. Sweat is a really slimy substance if it cannot evaporate

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I met a researcher that was measuring swimmer sweat. To do it he had to patch part of their body with a waterproof detector. Spoiler alert, they do!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

This is the science I live for.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

spend time in a sauna. you can tell.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

That's a humid steamy environment, not a small waterfall

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

If you start sweating in the shower you are doing it wrong. It could easily turn into heat stroke. This is more of a problem with hot tubs and hot springs

[+] [email protected] -20 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Sweat is basically water so sweating in a shower would be useless. I don't even think it's possible tbh. Once you get above a certain temperature you're just burning yourself.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 weeks ago

It is absolutely possible to sweat in water.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Sweat is salty water, so it's different. It's released more when your body is hot, not because it's dry. You probably aren't sweating in an air conditioned room and showers are typically hotter than room temperature, probably hot enough to make you sweat. I'm not sure why you think your sweat would turn off just because you're wet. If that was the case, you wouldn't have pooled sweat pouring off you on humid days

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I was thinking more along the lines of the water from the shower already acting as sweat by absorbing the heat. Which would make sweating useless. I dont feel like I've run into a situation which like this before, but based on people's comments, I may be wrong here.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

It's useless, yes, but your body didn't evolve to account for pouring a bunch of heated water over yourself

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

Sorry, maybe useless is the wrong word here. I meant your body wouldn't heat up enough to trigger sweating. If you're under running water that's more or less covering your entire body and it's all helping you cool down, how are you getting so hot that you sweat?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago

When the water’s temperature is higher than the temperature of your body, the heat is being transferred into your body.

Heat flows from higher to lower temperature.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Because we are imperfect animals with imperfect survival mechanisms, and sometimes water is actually hot enough to heat your body above what it considers to be its threshold for thermostatic equillibrium.

Problem: Body Temp Too Hot.

Solution: Emit Salt Water Tears from basically all of your skin so that the heat can transfer into Salty Tears and then evaporate. Works very well in low humidity situations.

But also problem: Humidity and temperature in ambient environment is so high that evaporation either does not work at all or is ineffective at dissipating internal body temp to the outside environment.

Same Solution: Keep sweating even though it doesn't work, enjoy heat exhaustion/stroke.

This is the whole problem of a 'wet bulb' temperature causing mass heat exhaustion, stroke or death: If the humidity and temperature are high enough, long enough, its literally impossible for a human body to naturally cool down.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I know about the risks of high humidity. Does the same risk apply when it's running water that's continually changing? How hot does it have to be where you're actually sweating while standing underneath a shower.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Yes, whether or not you are immersed in still, motionless water, being showered by a ... shower, or rainfall, or hose, being swept along by a river or undertow, or covered in snow...

The primary thing that triggers a human response to sweat is just your internal body temperature.

It doesn't matter how or what is transmitting heat to you, so long as your body is generally above a certain temperature threshold, you will sweat. Go below a certain general threshold and you will begin to shiver.

Exactly what those temperature thresholds are vary from person to person, based on your genetics, the climate you are used to living in, what kind of fitness level you have, whether or not you are currently sick and fighting off an infection... etc.

Generally speaking, I am seeing that humans begin to sweat when their immediate surroundings are 32C or about 90F, but again, different kinds of people used to different environments will have somewhat different thresholds.

https://journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/jappl.1966.21.3.967

So, perhaps thats a rough approximation of how hot the water of shower or bathtub would have to be for a roughly average person to begin sweating while bathing.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Hot weather? Hot water?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

How hot would the weather be where you end up sweating when you're whole body is covered in water?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Physically speaking the sweat isn't going to cool you down if you're already covered in shower water, but you'd definitely still be sweating.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Sweat has electrolytes.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I sweat Brawndo?!?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

Plants crave me. Fish fear me.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Brawndo has electrolytes and is what planets crave