Anxiety Sweat vs. Cold Sweat

Anxiety, Stress, Sweat: When Nerves Get Frayed

Cold sweats happen when you sweat a lot, even though your skin feels cool. It's different from regular sweating caused by heat or exercise. Cold sweats often pop up when you're stressed or if you're not feeling well.

Sweating During Stress and Anxiety – It's Totally Normal

Ever notice your hands get clammy before a big presentation, or your back feels wet when you're nervous? That's totally normal! Our bodies do this when we're in stressful or scary situations.

Sweating in Stressful or Anxious Times

Anxiety sweat, or nervous sweating, is when you sweat because of stress or anxiety, like before a test. Almost everyone's been there: a big doctor's appointment, a date, an exam, or speaking in front of a crowd. You want to seem cool and collected, but instead, you start sweating like crazy. Instead of being smooth, you're sweaty and flustered. Back in the Stone Age, when stress meant wild animals and other dangers where running or fighting were the only options, this made sense. When stressed, the body cools itself down in advance for the physical effort that might come next. We modern humans still have this, even though it doesn't really help us anymore. Sweating is triggered by the sympathetic nervous system, which also tells our muscles to tense up and our heart to beat faster when we're nervous or stressed. Just in case, it throws in some sweating too. A useful trick, evolutionarily.

For us today, it's a vicious cycle. You're stressed, you start sweating, and then you're even more stressed. In a time when many people barely get a break and are always stressed, this can be a real problem. Even though anxiety sweat isn't an illness, it can be helpful to take steps to break this cycle – or even better, avoid starting it in the first place.

Stopping the Sweat

"Thinking about what's stressing you out, maybe with some help, can be a good way to start if it's a long-term issue."

One thing you can do is avoid the extra stress that comes from sweating. Before specific, predictable stressful events like a test, a date, or a speech, using a good antiperspirant or even something like underarm pads can be helpful. These targeted actions can stop the cycle from even starting.

Tackling Stress

If stress and nerves are a constant problem, you should deal with that first. Simplify your life, think about what's causing stress, try mindfulness, and make sure you have regular relaxation time. Relaxation techniques like autogenic training can help a lot of people. Sometimes, talking to a therapist or coach can also be a good idea.

Why Do We Sweat When Stressed?

When we're stressed or anxious, our bodies release hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones get us ready for potential danger, triggering the "fight or flight" response. Part of this is sweating more. Sweating helps cool the body down since it uses more energy and heats up when stressed.

Which Body Areas Are Affected?

• Hands and Feet: Sweating here is super common because the blood vessels react strongly to stress.
• Armpits: Armpits sweat a lot too, since they have lots of sweat glands.
• Back: Especially during long periods of stress, your back can sweat a lot.

Erstmals publiziert am: 12.05.2011

Aktualisiert: 27.05.2025