Head temperature modulates thermal behavior in the cold in humans.

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Environmental Physiology
• Thermoregulation

Background:

• Maintaining thermal comfort during exercise in cold environments is crucial for performance and well-being.
• Peripheral skin temperatures, particularly of the head, are hypothesized to influence overall thermal regulation during physical activity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the hypothesis that head skin temperature can modulate thermal behavior and exercise responses in the cold.
• To determine if manipulating head temperature affects work rate, thermal perceptions, and comfort during cycling in a cold environment.

Main Methods:

• Eight healthy young males performed 30-minute self-paced cycling trials in 6°C.
• Experimental conditions included a control (shorts and shoes), head warming, and head cooling.
• Measurements included work rate, metabolic heat production, thermal perceptions, and various body temperatures (rectal, mean skin, head).

Main Results:

• Exercise work rate was reduced during head warming and increased during head cooling early in exercise.
• Head skin temperature manipulation significantly altered head thermal perception, improving comfort with warming and decreasing it with cooling.
• Core and mean skin temperatures showed negligible differences between trials in the early stages of exercise.

Conclusions:

• Peripheral temperature, specifically of the head, plays a significant role in modulating thermal behavior and exercise adjustments in the cold.
• Targeting head temperature can be a viable strategy to influence thermal comfort and potentially exercise performance in cold conditions.