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Our faces are a huge source of our identity. We spend an inordinate amount of time fussing over their appearance and ensuring that they reflect who we are and how we feel. It is understandable then that some runners find themselves frustrated by and wondering: Why does my face get so red when I run?
While being “red-faced” can be associated with emotional state, embarrassment, or shame, that is not what is going on in the case of runners. Still, runners may not be comfortable with this look, and so understanding what causes it can provide some reassurance.
How the Body Regulates Its Internal Temperature
Humans have evolved to survive in a wide range of climates. From the dry heat of deserts to the humid, hot jungles of the equator to the bone-chilling cold of the poles and everything in between. This kind of resilience and adaptability is only possible through many finely tuned processes that work together to maintain internal body temperature as constant as possible across an array of environmental conditions.
Much like an automobile engine works best at an optimal temperature, so does the human body. Too cold and the engine will be inefficient and produce less power than it is designed for, too hot and the engine will begin to break down. The human body experiences similar issues when internal temperature deviates too far from 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius), one way or the other.
And the automotive analogy is a useful one in many other ways. Just like a car engine has a thermostat, coolant, hoses, and a radiator, the human body possesses all these as well.
Our hypothalamus acts as our thermostat, monitoring temperature and engaging systems to increase or decrease temperature as needed. Coolant, in the form of blood, runs through hoses in the form of blood vessels to our radiator, the skin, when heat needs to be shed to the atmosphere. Moving the coolant through those hoses is the coolant pump, also known as the heart. Illness or disease in any one of these can result in thermal dysregulation.
The Physiological Sequence That Explains Your Red Face After Running
When everything is working properly, the body begins to cool itself down as it heats up, whether from a hot environment or from vigorous activity like running. One of the most important cooling responses is increasing blood flow to the skin.
The sequence of events is:
Working muscles burn fuel that releases energy for movement and significant amounts of heat.
Blood passing through the muscle is warmed up by that heat, and the heat is carried away.
The hypothalamus senses the increased temperature of the blood, and a cascade of signals results in an increased heart rate and dilation of blood vessels in the skin. This can increase blood flow to the skin several-fold.
The heated blood is cooled very efficiently as it passes through the skin and is exposed to cooler ambient temperatures.
The cooled blood returns to the muscles, where it can then be heated up, and the process continues in a loop.
Cooling efficiency is dramatically increased by a few factors: sweating, increased cardiac output, and increased dilation of skin blood vessels.
Sweating helps the body cool down by allowing heat to escape through evaporation. As warm blood flows to the skin, it transfers heat to the sweat, which then evaporates and carries the heat away. This process, called evaporative heat loss, can significantly reduce body temperature. At the same time, the heart pumps more blood to keep up with the demands of exercise, sending it both to the working muscles and the skin. This boosts heat transfer from deep inside the body to the surface, where it can be released into the environment.
Finally, vasodilation, or the opening of blood vessels in the skin, allows for more blood to pool in the skin to allow for more cooling. The result of this is a reddish color bestowed on those areas.
One place with a high density of capillaries prone to vasodilating in this way as a response to heat stress is the face. And so, the reason for facial flushing during or after running is simply a normal physiologic response to increased body temperature that results from exertion.
Is Facial Flushing During and After Running Concerning?
Facial flushing during or after running is not a problem that needs solving. Rather than being concerned by facial flushing, be reassured that your body is doing exactly what it should be, and you are simply manifesting the signs of a solid effort. Furthermore, the phenomenon is short-lived and resolves once the body temperature returns to a set range.
However, if you have an important event after running or simply want to speed up the process of bringing your face back to its normal color, try the following:
Going through a cooldown routine (walking, light stretching) for longer.
Applying cool, moist cloths to your face.
Getting into a cool environment quickly after running.
