Effects of repeated exposures to severely cold environments on thermal responses of humans

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of different exposure rates on thermal responses with the total cold exposure time the same under each of the conditions. After resting in a warm room (25 degrees C) for 10 minutes, six male students wearing standard cold protective clothing entered an adjoining cold room (-25 degrees C). Each 5-, 10- and 20-minute cold exposure was repeated 12, 6 and 3 times, respectively. Each cold exposure was followed by a similar duration of rest at 25 degrees C. Total cold exposure time was the same under the three conditions. Rectal temperature, skin temperatures, blood pressure, 17-hydroxycoyticoids (OHCS), counting task and subjective responses were measured. At the end of the cold exposure skin temperatures in the shorter exposures were higher than those in the other conditions, except on the foot. Discomfort due to cold was less in the shorter exposures and manifestation of discomfort was delayed. However, there were no differences among the three conditions in the fall of rectal temperature and urinary excretion of 17-OHCS, which are good indices of cold stress. Moreover, increase in blood pressure and decrease in counting task due to cold were not different among the three conditions. Even though the cold exposure time for each stay was short, when cold exposures were repeated frequently, cold stress of the whole body and decrease in manual task performance were the same as in the longer cold exposure.