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Heat Reacclimation Using Exercise or Hot Water Immersion.
Nicola Gerrett1, Puck Alkemade, Hein Daanen
1Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS.
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
|June 15, 2021
Summary
A 10-day heat acclimation protocol may suffice for cardiovascular and thermal adaptations after a 28-day decay. However, heat reacclimation (HRA) using controlled hyperthermia or hot water immersion can reinstate lost sweat adaptations.
Area of Science:
- Exercise Physiology
- Environmental Physiology
- Human Adaptation
Background:
- Heat acclimation (HA) improves thermoregulation and exercise performance.
- The duration of these adaptations and the necessity of heat reacclimation (HRA) after a decay period require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the effectiveness of exercise versus hot water immersion (HWI) for heat reacclimation (HRA) protocols.
- To assess the retention of heat adaptations after a 28-day decay period and the efficacy of HRA in reinstating them.
Main Methods:
- Twenty-four participants underwent heat stress tests (HST) before and after a 10-day controlled hyperthermia (CH) heat acclimation (HA) protocol.
- Participants experienced a 28-day decay period followed by a 5-day HRA protocol (control, CH, or HWI) before a final HST.
Main Results:
- The 10-day HA protocol improved thermal comfort and exercise capacity, with lower core temperatures and higher sweat rates.
- After 28 days, only sweat rate, time to exhaustion, and mean skin temperature returned to pre-HA levels.
- A 5-day CH or HWI HRA protocol successfully reinstated sweat adaptations.
Conclusions:
- A 10-day controlled hyperthermia (CH) heat acclimation (HA) protocol may preserve cardiovascular and thermal adaptations for at least 28 days.
- For restoring sweat adaptations lost during a 28-day decay, a 5-day heat reacclimation (HRA) protocol using controlled hyperthermia or hot water immersion is effective.
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