Summers in Germany are getting hotter and hotter and we humans have to cope with the heat. The body can regulate its own temperature up to a certain temperature, but not beyond that. A heat expert explains what is important.
According to the Robert Koch Institute, an estimated 3,200 people died in Germany last year due to heat. According to Hanns-Christian Gunga, a space medicine specialist whose research has focused on the physical effects of extreme environmental influences, there are various forms of heat death. He explains what these are and why we should train ourselves to sweat in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) in 2023.
This is what happens in the body when it is hot
The professor describes the situation as “life-threatening” when the body is unable to lower its own temperature. According to him, the “upper limit” is a body temperature of 43 to 44 degrees Celsius. At a temperature of 38 or 39 degrees, “processes on a molecular level get out of sync.” According to Gunga, the normal temperature of a body is 37 degrees. If the body is unable to regulate its temperature, “metabolic processes get out of control,” warns Gunga.
How dangerous a hot day can be for people is not only determined by the air temperature, but also by the humidity, the wind and the radiation temperature. The danger also depends on a person’s state of health and how much water they drink.
In an interview with the FAZ, Gunga explains what happens in the body when it is hot. In order to reduce the temperature, the blood flow to the skin increases – people turn red in this case. The body also produces sweat to cool the skin and the blood in it through evaporation. The cooled blood flows back to the heart and cools the organs in the body on the way. The body speeds up this process by making the heart beat faster.
This is how heat death occurs
Gunga also explains in the interview how heat death occurs. According to him, thrombosis, a heart attack or a stroke can occur if the body sweats but not enough is drunk. Through sweating, the body loses fluid, the blood cools down – and thickens if no fluid is replaced.
Heat stroke can be caused by “too much sun shining on the head for too long”. The region of the brain responsible for temperature regulation can then be damaged – with the result that it no longer sends signals to the body and the body does not sweat or cool down, for example.
According to the professor, the first signs of dehydration and overheating are: feeling unwell, clouding of consciousness, dizziness or ringing in the ears. If any of these occur, the doctor advises sitting down or even lying down. He also says it is dangerous if people are on a ladder or stairs when the symptoms occur. Falls can occur, which can cause some people to die indirectly from heat.
Doctors: Practice sweating and drink plenty
According to Gunga, people can prevent it: “You can train yourself to sweat in good time, for example by going to the sauna regularly and doing a lot of exercise or sport.” However, training must begin “well before the heat wave,” says the doctor – “ideally in spring.” According to the professor, in people who sweat frequently, each sweat gland can produce sweat more quickly and in larger quantities. In addition, these people sweat in other parts of the body – on the extremities, where cooling is “particularly efficient.” The composition of the sweat also changes, towards sweat that is low in electrolytes and contains fewer salts and minerals, which are not lost from the body.
In any case, it is important to drink a lot, says the doctor. But you should not rely on your thirst because it only sets in “very late”. Instead, you should “consciously drink a lot, even if you are not thirsty”.
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