EXERCISE IN HOT AND COLD

ENVIRONMENT: THERMOREGULATION

-Sampada A. Mahadik.
- II MPT.
 Physiological responses to acute and chronic exercise in
both hot and cold environments..

 Specific health risks associated with exercise in both

temperature extremes..

 Prevention of temperature-related illness and injuries

during exercise..
 MECHANISM OF BODY TEMPERATURE REGULATION

 Humans are homeothermic, meaning that they

maintain a constant internal body temperature,
usually in the range of 36.1 to 37.80 C.
Once heat nears the skin, it can be transferred to the environment by any of
the four mechanisms: conduction, convection, radiation and evaporation.
Conduction: involves the transfer of heat from one material to another
through direct molecular contact.
Convection: involves moving heat from one place to another by the motion
of a gas or a liquid across the heated surface. When air and water
temperature is greater than skin temperature, the body gains heat
through conduction and convection.
Radiation: is the primary method for discharging the body’s excess heat,
when at rest. At normal room temperature (21-250 C), the nude body
loses about 60% of its excess heat by radiation.
Evaporation: is the primary avenue for heat dissipation during exercise.
Evaporation of 1 L of sweat results in the loss of 580 kcal. At rest, most
heat is lost via radiation, but during exercise, evaporation becomes the
most important avenue of heat loss.
 When humidity is high, the air already contains many water molecules.
This decreases its capacity to accept more water because the
concentration gradient is decreased. Thus, high humidity limits sweat
evaporation and heat loss. Low humidity offers an ideal opportunity for
sweat evaporation and heat loss.

CONTROL OF HEAT EXCHANGE

 The Hypothalamus: The Body’s Thermostat
 Two sets of thermoreceptors provide temperature information to
thermoregulatory center.
 Peripheral receptors in the skin relay information about the temperature
of skin and the environment around it.
 Central receptors in hypothalamus transmit information about internal
body temperature.
 Sweat glands: when either skin or blood is heated, hypothalamus sends impulses to sweat glands,
commanding them to actively secrete sweat that moistens the skin. The hotter the individual, the
more sweat is produced. The evaporation of this moisture, removes heat from skin’s surface.
 Smooth muscles around arterioles: when the skin and the blood are heated, the hypothalamus sends
signals to the smooth muscles in the walls of the arterioles that supply the skin, causing them to
dilate. This increases blood flow to the skin. The blood carries heat from the deeper parts from the
body to the skin, where the heat dissipates to the environment through conduction, convection,
radiation and evaporation.
 Skeletal muscles: skeletal muscle is called into action when body needs to generate more heat. In a
cold environment, the thermoreceptors in the skin relay signal to the hypothalamus. Similarly,
whenever blood temperature decreases, the change is noted by the central receptors in the
hypothalamus. In response to this neutral input, the hypothalamus activates the brain centers that
control muscle tone. These centers stimulate shivering, which is a rapid involuntary cycle of
contraction and relaxation of skeletal muscles. This increased muscle activity generates heat to
either maintain or increase body temperature.
 Endocrine glands: the effects of several hormones cause cells to increase their metabolic rates.
Increased metabolism affects heat balance because it increases heat production. Cooling the body
stimulates the release of thyroxine (elevates the metabolic rate throughout the body by more than
100%) from the thyroid gland.
 Cardiovascular Function
 Exercise increases the demands on the cardiovascular system.
 Exercising in hot environments sets up a competition between the active muscles and the skin for the limited blood supply.
 The muscles need blood and the oxygen it delivers to sustain activity; the skin needs blood to facilitate heat loss to keep the
body cool. Although cardiac output may remain reasonably constant, stroke volume may decline, resulting in a gradual
upward drift in heart rate, this phenomenon is called as cardiovascular drift.
Energy Production
 Along with increasing body temperature and heart rate, exercise in the heat also increases oxygen uptake, causing the
working muscle to use more glycogen and to produce more lactate compared with exercise in the cold.
 A warmer environment places greater stress on the cardiovascular system, which increases the heart rate. Also, increased
sweat production and respiration demand more energy, which requires a higher oxygen uptake.
 The compromised blood flow to the muscles during exercise in the heat leads to greater use of muscle oxygen and production
of more lactic acid. Thus, exercise in heat can hasten oxygen depletion and increase muscle lactate, both of which are known
to contribute to the sensations of fatigue and exhaustion.
Body Fluid Balance: Sweating
 Sweating increases during exercise in the heat, and this can quickly lead to dehydration and excessive electrolyte loss. Loss of
minerals and water by sweating triggers the release of aldosterone and antidiuretic hormone (ADH).
 Aldosterone is responsible for maintaining sodium levels and ADH maintains fluid balance.
 Aldosterone is released from adrenal cortex in response to stimuli such as decreased sodium content, reduced blood volume,
or reduced blood pressure.
 Similarly, exercise and body water loss stimulates the posterior pituitary glands to secrete ADH. This hormone stimulates
water reabsorption from the kidneys, which further promotes fluid retention in the body.
 Heat stress is not reflected by air temperature alone.
 Humidity, air velocity, and thermal radiation also contribute to the
total heat stress that one can experience when exercising in heat.
Measuring heat stress
 Heat stress involves more than just the air temperature.
 Perhaps the most accurate means for measuring heat stress is the
WBGT (wet bulb globe temperature), which measures air temperature
and accounts for the heat exchange potential through conduction,
convection, radiation and evaporation in a specific environment.
Heat-Related Disorders
 Exposure to the combination of heat stress and the inability to generate
metabolically generated heat can lead to three health related disorders:
heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke
 Heat Cramps
 They are characterized by severe cramping of the skeletal muscles.
 They are probably caused by losses of fluids and minerals that result from excessive sweating.
 They are treated by moving the stricken individual to a cooler location and administrating fluids or a
saline solution.
Heat Exhaustion
 It is accompanied by symptoms like extreme fatigue, breathlessness, dizziness, vomiting, fainting,
cold and clammy or hot and dry skin, hypotension and a weak rapid pulse.
 It results from the inability of the cardiovascular system to adequately meet the needs of the active
muscles and the skin.
 It is brought on by reduced blood volume, typically caused by excessive loss of fluids and minerals
through prolonged heavy sweating, and by competition for the existing blood volume between the
skin and the active muscles.
 Treatment involves rest in a cooler environment with their feet elevated to avoid shock. Although, it is
not in itself life threatening, it can deteriorate heat stroke if untreated.
Heat Stroke
 It is characterized by an increase in internal body temperature to a value exceeding 40 0 C, cessation of
sweating, hot and dry skin, rapid pulse and respiration, hypertension, and confusion and
unconsciousness.
 It is caused by failure of the body’s thermoregulatory mechanisms.
 If untreated, it progresses and can be fatal.
Preventing Hyperthermia

 Several precautions must be taken when one is planning to exercise in the

heat.
 These include cancelling the event if the environmental stress is too high
(WBGT above 280 C), wearing proper clothing, being alert to the signs of
hyperthermia, and ensuring adequate fluid intake, both before and during
exercise.
 Effects of Heat Acclimatization
 Repeated exposure to heat stress gradually improves the ability to lose excess
heat. This process of adaptation is called heat acclimatization.
 With heat acclimatization, one starts to sweat earlier and the rate of sweating
increases, particularly in the areas that are well exposed and are the most
efficient at promoting heat loss. This reduces skin temperature, which increases
the thermal gradient from the internal to external body and promotes heat loss.
 Core temperature and heart rate during exercise are reduced, whereas stroke
volume increases with heat acclimatization. Plasma volume increases,
contributing to an increase in stroke volume that aids the delivery of more blood
to the active muscles and skin when necessary.
 Heat acclimatization reduces the rate of muscle glycogen use, delaying the onset
of fatigue.
Achieving Heat Acclimatization
 Heat acclimatization requires exercise in a hot environment, not merely
exposure to heat.
 The amount of heat acclimatization attained depends on the conditions to the
one is exposed during each session, the duration of the exposure, and the rate of
internal heat production.
 The hypothalamus has a temperature set point of about
370 C, but daily fluctuations in the body temperature can
be as much as 10 C. A decrease in either skin or blood
temperature provides feedback to the thermoregulatory
center (hypothalamus) to activate the mechanisms that
conserve body heat and increase heat production.
 The primary means by which our body avoid excessive
cooling are shivering, nonshivering thermogenesis, and
peripheral vasoconstriction.
 Shivering – a rapid, involuntary cycle of contraction and relaxation of
skeletal muscles increase metabolic heat production to help maintain or
increase body temperature in the cold. It can cause a four to five fold
increase in the body’s resting rate of heat production.
 Nonshivering thermogenesis – involves stimulation of metabolism by
the sympathetic nervous system. Increasing the metabolic rate increases
the amount of internal heat production.
 Peripheral vasoconstriction – occurs as a sympathetic stimulation to the
smooth muscle surrounding the arterioles in the skin. The stimulation
causes the smooth muscles to contract, which constricts the arterioles,
reduces the blood flow to the shell of the body, and prevents
unnecessary heat loss. The metabolic rate of the skin cells also decreases
the skin’s temperature as the skin’s temperature decreases, so the skin
requires less oxygen.
 The mechanisms of conduction, convection, radiation, and evaporation, usually perform
effectively in dissipating metabolically produced heat during exercise in warm
conditions; can dissipate heat faster than the body produces it in a cold environment.
 Thermal balance depends on a wide variety of factors that affect the gradient between
body heat production and heat loss. The larger the difference between the temperature of
the skin and the cold environment, the greater the heat loss.
BODY SIZE AND COMPOSITION
 Subcutaneous fat is an excellent source of insulation. Skinfold measurements of
subcutaneous fat thickness are a good indicator of a individual’s tolerance for cold
exposure.
 The thermal conductivity of fat is relatively low, so it impedes heat transfer from deep
tissues to the body surface. People who have more fat mass conserve heat more
efficiently in the cold.
 The rate of heat loss also is affected by the ratio of body surface area to body mass. Tall
heavy individuals have a small surface area to the body mass ratio, which makes them
less susceptible to hypothermia.
 Small children tend to have large area to mass ratio compared with adults, this makes it
more difficult for them to maintain normal body temperature in cold.
 Women tend to have more body fat than men, but true sex differences in cold tolerance
are minimal.
 Wind creates a chill factor, known as the windchill, by increasing the rate of
heat loss via convection and conduction. Also the more humid air, the greater
the physiological stress.

HEAT LOSS IN COLD WATER

 Radiation and sweat evaporation are the primary mechanisms for the heat loss
in air, and conduction allows the greatest heat transfer during immersion in
water.
 Water has a thermal conductivity of about 26 times greater than air. This means
that heat loss by conduction is 26 times faster in water than in air.
 When all heat-transfer mechanisms are considered, the body generally loses
heat four times faster in water than it does in air of the same temperature.
 Humans generally maintain a constant internal temperature when they remain
inactive in water at temperatures down to about 320 C. but when the water
temperature decreases lower, they become hypothermic at a rate proportional to
either the duration of their exposure to the thermal gradient.
 Because of the large drain of heat from the body immersed in cold water,
prolonged exposure or unusually cold conditions can lead to extreme
hypothermia and death.
 MUSCLE FUNCTION
 When muscle is cooled, it is weakened, and fatigue occurs more rapidly. During
prolonged exercise in the cold, as energy supplies diminish and exercise intensity
declines, a person becomes increasingly susceptible to hypothermia.
METABOLIC RESPONSES
 Exercise triggers release of the catecholamines, which increase the mobilization
and use of free fatty acids for fuel.
 But in the cold, vasoconstriction impairs circulation to the subcutaneous fat
tissue, so this process is attenuated.
 Blood glucose plays an important role in cold tolerance and exercise endurance.
Hypoglycemia, suppress shivering and significantly reduces rectal temperature.
 The blood glucose level is maintained reasonably well during cold exposure.
Muscle glycogen is used somewhat at a higher rate in cold water than in warmer
conditions.
 HYPOTHERMIA
 It has been shown that individuals who are immersed in near-freezing water will
die within a few minutes when there rectal temperature decreases from a normal
level of 370 C to 24 or 250 C.
 Once the body temperature falls below 34.50 C, the hypothalamus begins to lose
its ability to regulate body temperature. This ability is completely lost when the
internal temperature decreases to 29.50 C. This loss of function is associated with
slowing of metabolic reactions to one half their normal rates for each 10 0 C
decline in cellular temperature. As a result, cooling the body can cause
drowsiness and even coma.
CARDIORESPIRATORY EFFECTS
 The hypothalamus begins to lose its ability to regulate body temperature if body
temperature drops below 34.50 C.
 Hypothermia primarily affects the heart’s sinoatrial node, decreasing the heart
rate, which in turn reduces cardiac output.
 Breathing cold air does not freeze the respiratory passages or the lungs when
ventilation is low.
 Exposure to extreme cold decreases respiratory rate and volume.
 Mild hypothermia can be treated by protecting the affected person from
the cold and providing dry clothing and warm beverages.
 Moderate to severe cases of hypothermia require gentle handling to avoid
initiating a cardiac arrhythmia. This requires slowly rewarming the
victim.
 Severe cases of hypothermia require hospital facilities and medical care.

FROSTBITE
 Frostbite occurs as a consequence of the body’s attempts to prevent heat
loss.
 Vasoconstriction in the skin reduces blood flow, so the skin rapidly cools.
This reduced blood flow, combined with the lack of oxygen and nutrients,
causes the skin tissue to die.
 Cold acclimatization is not been well studied, so our knowledge is
limited.
 Repeated exposure to the cold may alter peripheral blood flow and
skin temperatures, allowing greater cold tolerance.
Thank you..