We all know this situation: You want to do something good for your health and your body and decide to go running a few kilometers. In the beginning you are not challenged at all and it feels like the best decision you have ever made to go for this run. But after some time you notice how you are breathing more heavily and there is a sharp pain in the side of your stomach. But you see the worst consequence first when you are back home and see yourself in the mirror. Your face is red like a tomato and you are sweating all over your body. While the sweating decreases over time, the red face accompanies you and still hours later, there is a dark colour in your face.
But why does our faces turn red and what can you do to stop it?
Because of the physical activity and the intense movements your body will heat up and the body temperature rises. In a counterreaction to this, the body will open the blood vessels, as well as our skin pores. The blood is now flowing closer to our skin’s surface. This explains the red colour on our faces and why it is so strongly visible. Of course every skin colour is different and so is the visibility of our blood. Pale and bright-skinned people are more likely to turn red in their faces than darker-skinned people.
Another aspect that influences the face flush of every person individually is the emission of the neurotransmitter histamine. This emission rate differs in every body. People with a bigger histamine emission are more likely to turn red because of the widened blood vessels. These contribute to a darker flushing.
Another reason our head turns red is not because of a physical but an emotional trigger. Sometimes, when we have a hard work or school day is behind us, we only want our peace and quietness. If we then get disturbed, we are often not capable of staying calm and our exhaustion can turn into anger. Because of this sudden change of our emotional mood, our head can turn red just like when we are running or excercising.
The process is the same. Our blood vessels widen too and our blood flow is more visible.
Of course, there also can be other emotional triggers like embarassment or nervousness that are causing the same reaction of our body.
Even if the red skin colour will not last forever, there is a way to accelerate the process of cooling down. You can help your body to cool down by taking a cold shower or putting your head under cold water. Moreover, you can put a cold compress on your forehead or fan yourself with air. This will support your body’s efforts.
Another possibility is to avoid turning red in the first place. Through special breathing techniques you can avoid that your body is heating up this quickly. Furthermore, through increased training the body will get used to the exertion and after some time your head will not get as red so quickly.
https://time.com/4316858/red-face-flush-exercise/
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-your-face-turns-red-when-youre-angry-or-embarrased_n_56f2ca2ae4b04c4c3760d4dc
https://utopia.de/ratgeber/roter-kopf-nach-sport-ist-das-schlimm/#:~:text=Im%20Prinzip%20hei%C3%9Ft%20ein%20roter,wieder%20deine%20normale%20Hautfarbe%20bekommen.
https://www.fr.de/ratgeber/gesundheit/erroeten-ursachen-bedeutung-therapie-rot-werden-gesicht-11245060.html#:~:text=Solange%20der%20rote%20Kopf%20gelegentlich,gelassener%20mit%20der%20Situation%20umgehen.
https://praxistipps.focus.de/rot-werden-verhindern-die-besten-tipps-und-tricks_126010