Can I take a shower immediately after sweating during exercise?

Many times, especially in winter, we often go out for exercise before taking a shower, run a few laps, warm up our bodies, and take a hot shower. The shower water feels very refreshing on the body. After taking a shower, we feel refreshed and it helps the body detoxify. However, some medical experts point out that this is really harmful to the body. So, can you take a shower immediately after sweating during exercise? Will there be any adverse effects?

According to research by sports medicine experts, when people exercise, the blood flow to the muscles increases and the heart rate speeds up. When exercise stops, blood flow and heart rate will ease, but they will still last for a long time. If you take a shower immediately at this time, the blood flow to the skin and muscles will increase. This means that the remaining blood is insufficient to supply other vital organs, such as the heart and brain, which can induce heart disease.

Some people take a hot bath immediately after exercise, and often feel dizzy, weak and other discomforts afterwards. This is the reason mentioned above. Especially for the elderly or obese people, they should not take a hot bath immediately after exercise.

After sweating during exercise in the summer, you cannot take a cold shower immediately because the temperature is high in the summer and the body's heat production increases during exercise. The evaporation of sweat and the dilation of skin blood vessels are important ways for the body to dissipate heat. Right after exercise, the human body is still in a state of vigorous metabolism, increased heat production, and dilated skin blood vessels. If you take a cold shower immediately at this time, the skin will be stimulated by the cold water, which will cause skin blood vessels to contract through nerve reflexes. As a result, sweating and heat dissipation will be hindered, making heat dissipation difficult and body temperature rising. At the same time, the decrease in skin blood flow causes a sudden increase in the amount of blood returning to the heart, which increases the burden on the heart. In addition, when the body suddenly enters a cold environment from a hot environment, it does not have time to adapt and is often prone to catching a cold or causing gastrointestinal cramps. After exercise, muscles become fatigued and tense, and if they are exposed to cold stimulation at this time, they may cause cramps. After sweating during summer exercise, you should drink some salt water, then rest for about an hour, do some warm-up exercises and then take a cold shower. If conditions permit, it is best to take a warm bath.

Therefore, after we exercise vigorously, we should not take a hot (cold) shower immediately. If there are any adverse reactions during the shower, we should stop immediately. The elderly and those with serious reactions should call a doctor immediately. Only by exercising healthily and taking reasonable and scientific measures after exercise can we achieve better results.