Explainer: Does Wiping Away Sweat Keep You Cool?

Heat waves have been gripping the U.S., leading overheated people everywhere to dab beads of sweat from their foreheads. Does wiping away sweat actually help you keep cool?
Not really. Sweat releases heat by evaporative cooling. As each gram of sweat transitions from liquid to gas phase, it absorbs 2,427 joules of energy from the body and dissipates the heat into the environment. If you wipe away the perspiration before it evaporates, that process gets cut short, and you'll need to sweat more just to achieve the same degree of cooling.
Dripping sweat is problematic for anyone who has grown large—no matter how athletic they are. When we put on weight and muscle, we don't add sweat glands. As a result, people with bigger frames have fewer glands on the surface of their skin, so perspiration won't cover their bodies as evenly, and they have to increase their sweat output to compensate.
Despite rumors to the contrary, studies have shown that fit and unfit people sweat at similar rates when pedaling stationary bicycles at the same speed. In fact, personal sweating rates seem to vary with heat production, body mass, and body surface area rather than fitness level.
Some of our most popular methods of getting cooler are actually poor strategies in the long run. Cranking the air conditioning prevents your body from acclimating to the heat by maximizing sweat rates and reducing the loss of electrolytes during perspiration. Cold drinks may look good in commercials (Gatorade commercial clip?) but they don't actually keep you cool. Hot beverages, on the other hand, help find your full, sweaty potential—a good thing. So, next time you're ordering that iced coffee, make it a regular.
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[jegr]

Hot coffee ain't gonna do you any good in a hot and possibly dehydrated state. WTF are they talking about in the description?

[pivotkid]

well the feeling of liquid dripping down your head is uncomfortable so you cant help but wipe it. unless you're in an action movie where no one ever feels the need to wipe the blood from their face

[VoidOfEulogy]

When we first are on the subject of heat, taking fever relif pill does not help you get better, it just stops the bodys natural self defence. Though this might be a more universal misconception.

[MAjYQSammi]

While getting a hot drink might be "better, " eating shaved ice after a long run just feels... Phenomenal.

[Milo]

I found it to be the opposite sweating a lot keeps me a lot cooler in the summer but this Is probably because I'm a tall guy with a decent amount of muscle and thus sweat more than the average person. I do have to swipe my sweat off a lot though since I work in the kitchen, if not maybe one or two sweat drops fall on the grill as well😂

[jamesviltron]

Well, making the excess sweating stop within 2 days was so much more than I expected, I went with what I talked about last week and after the first day or so I was very surprised to start feeling much more comfortable and dry! I went ahead and go'ogled the latest by Cynthia Yulesin and my self-confidence has never been higher!

[JSprayaEntertainment]

thats why they drink hot tea in the heat .... wow

[SEThatered]

Good thing I drink a hot black tea even in 30°C!

[neurofiedyamato]

Wait, people think wiping off sweat help you keep cooler? Who thought that? I just thought people including me wipe sweat is because it's uncomfortable...
Same with drinking cold beverages, it's more comfortable drinking cold ones than hot.
And by drinking hot beverages, you are theoretically increasing your temperature so you sweat more to compensate. So I don't think that really help as you increase both sweat and heat. If the beverage isn't increasing your body temperature, you won't sweat more, so drinking anything isn't really effective.