Why Work Stinks

Recently I received an e-mail from a customer who had a great question. So great, in fact, that I decided to expand upon the subject here in my blog. The gist of her question was this:

Ive noticed that its harder to keep body odor under control in my
air-conditioned office than when working in the heat in my yard on the
weekend. How can this be?

I had noticed the same thing a couple summers ago when I was working at a TV station. The air conditioning was always super cold but I always had a harder time deodorizing myself there than when hiking in 90 degree weather. That led me on my quest to find the answer to the mystery. While there may be other reasons that work may figuratively "stink," today Ill give you the reasons why it really can!

The first reason is caffeine. The body gets rid of caffeine by sweating it out. One study found that caffeine is present in sweat for up to four hours after drinking it. [source] You know when they say the body sweats out "toxins?" Caffeine is one of them! In addition, caffeine inhibits the creation and function of anti-diuretic hormone (ADH). ADH is responsible for regulating the amount of water in your bodys tissues. So when caffeine inhibits ADH, you excrete water. Thats why caffeine is known as a diuretic. To get rid of water, your body does a number of things. First, it flushes water through the kidneys and bladder (as youve probably noticed in more frequent trips to the bathroom). Second, it stimulates the bowel system and can increase the water content in your stool. Third, it increases sweating to rid itself of water. After all is said and done, that cup of tea or coffee may have made you more alert, but now youre dehydrated and sweaty!
In an office setting youre more likely to need a boost of mental focus and alertness, so you revert to a cup o joe. Or a cup of organic green tea in my case. ;) Over the weekend just working around the house you usually get to sleep in and dont have the pressures to perform so you dont partake of that extra boost as readily. Thus caffeine is reason number one it "stinks at work."

Every Saturday in the summer we have a booth at the Salt Lake Farmers Market. And, while its hot, I usually can keep the sweat and the odor under control with the Pit Putty, no problem. One week last summer I noticed I was sweating a lot. I mean, I was afraid to put my arms up! It wasnt any hotter than previous weeks. I was wearing the same clothes and not doing any activities out of the ordinary. Then I realized it--instead of my usual Strawberry Limeade, I had drank some strong black tea. There was the first hand proof that convinced me to keep the caffeine to a minimum--just for my market neighbors sake!

The second reason you could be more odiferous at work is stress. When our body comes under stress the sympathetic nervous system is triggered. This causes our heart rate and breathing to speed up, our blood pressure to escalate, and sweat production to increase. [source] In fact, the average person sweats more when stressed out—700 milligrams per hour—than when in a 100-degree room—600 milligrams per hour. [source] In addition to the increased sweat, when youre stressed your body undergoes many physiological changes, like increases in hormones and a shift in pH. Under constant duress, the skin is consistently starved of both blood and oxygen, making it weaker and more prone to the bacterial growth that can cause odor. [source]


Third, our clothing is different. On the weekend you may wear a cotton t-shirt or tank, while in the office you may wear "stuffier" clothing made from rayons and poly blends. These clothes (especially if youre wearing layers) arent as breatheable as your weekend attire and can trap in sweat, making a moist environment for those odor-causing bacteria to grow.


Now, while you probably cant eliminate stress from your workplace, or start wearing t-shirts, and you may not want to give up that mid-day cup of green tea, there are ways you can improve your odds for staying fresh. First, when choosing business attire, look for 100% natural, lightweight fibers like cotton, hemp, and bamboo. As for the stress, there are plenty of breathing exercises you can do to calm your nervous system and decrease your heart rate. Or just getting up and taking a 5 minute walk around the building. And dont forget all the health benefits of green tea and coffee can be found in decaf. Getting plenty of sleep will help you curb the caffeine cravings. Plus cutting caffiene will help you get to sleep better at night anyways...its a win-win situation.

So thats it. Mystery solved. Caffeine, stress, and clothing all affect the way we smell at work. Now when someone says work stinks--youll know exactly why!

Why Is The Belgravia Centre Best For Hair Loss

At The Belgravia Centre we take pride in standing out from other hair loss treatment providers. We work hard to provide you with the best possible chance of stabilising hair loss and stimulating regrowth in thinning areas. Our combined treatment packages are tailored to your specific needs, and we do whatever we can to provide support for our clients, whether thats a chat over the phone or a visit to the clinic in person. Here, we highlight exactly what makes us the UKs busiest hair loss clinic:

• Ours is the only hair loss clinic with an in-house pharmacy. This allows us to post discreet treatment packages directly to a clients preferred delivery address, or alternatively the client can collect in person from the centre.
• Because we make much of our medication in-house, we are able to create higher strength formulations than those available on the high street, meaning that we can treat more stubborn hair loss at a faster rate than clients could achieve with off-the-shelf hair loss treatment. The medications which we dispense are licensed by the UK and US regulatory bodies as proven hair loss treatments.
• Our treatment plans also contain a variety of hair loss boosters which complement the medication and which we have found to be extremely effective in helping to maximise regrowth and keep hair healthy.
• Our clinic is open seven days a week and four late nights, ensuring that you can visit us entirely at your convenience. Our clinic is located next to the Victoria underground and train stations in Central London.We can also answer your queries over the internet or via phone during opening hours.
• We dont demand large payments at the start of your treatment, instead the cost can be spread out into installments at no extra cost, with no obligation to continue if you are unhappy with your results. We find that the vast majority of our patients are happy with the results and stay with us.
• If you cant make it to the clinic, our full variety of home use treatments are still available to you, just fill in our online diagnostic form and we can diagnose you remotely and post your treatments out to wherever in the world you might be. Although we do prefer clients to visit us so that we can track progress in person and also offer them a clinical treatment.
• Our website contains the worlds largest collection of  hair loss success stories with pictorial evidence from our clients, along with extensive information on the treatments that we offer for men and women. We also have a regularly updated blog with all the latest hair loss news, from the medical developments to which celebrity has just had treatment for hair loss. 

The first consultation to determine the cause of your hair loss is free and takes between 30 and 40 minutes. There is no obligation to begin a treatment plan following the consultation  To inquire further or to book an appointment, call us on 0800 077 6666 or send us a message online.