Having a lot of tattoos can affect sweat release, study warns

Do you practice sports and have the dream of getting a lot of tattoos on your body? Calm down: maybe it’s good to settle for one tattoo or another, since crowding arms, legs and back with the designs can interfere with the release of sweat, according to a study that will be published in the July 2017 edition of the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

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The research – conducted by researchers at Alma College, located in the state of Michigan, in the United States – included ten people who had a lot of tattoos on one side of their upper body (torso, back or arm). The scientists chemically stimulated both tattooed parts of the skin and areas that had not received the dye.

And the experts noticed something that no other study had demonstrated. “Tattooed skin produced half the sweat than non-tattooed skin”, reveals Maurie Luetkemeier, a professor at the institution that conducted the investigation. “In addition, sweat from tattooed skin had significantly more sodium,” she adds.

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In an interview with the American magazine shape, Luetkemeier said that the tattoo ink would affect the sweat glands, which excrete sweat. Regarding the sodium content found, the scholar commented that it may be an indication that the material used to make the tattoos would prevent part of the sodium found naturally in sweat from being reabsorbed by the body. It is not yet known whether this can cause any nutritional deficiencies.

And if you’re thinking not sweating is a good thing, no! Retaining too much heat during exercise can cause the body to overheat and enter a condition known as heat exhaustionwhich leads to fainting, dizziness, fatigue, nausea and headache.

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If you already have your entire arm or body covered with tattoos, you don’t need to despair. According to the authors of the article, more studies are needed to validate the findings. “Future research may clarify whether heavily tattooed individuals are, in fact, more at risk of suffering from overheating,” says Maurie Luetkemeier. Until science comes to a conclusion, the old tip of drinking water before, during and after exercise is worth it, to ensure that your body is hydrated all the time.

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