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Heat Stress
PSYO-5205: CHAPTER-04: ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS • Heat stress is an illness that can be caused by exposure to extreme heat. It
Engineering Psychology occurs when the body is unable to maintain a healthy temperature in
response to a hot environment.
• Heat stress occurs when the body cannot get rid of excess heat. When this
happens, the body's core temperature rises, and the heart rate increases.
Prepared by 4.2.1 Heat Stress
• As the body continues to store heat, the person begins to lose concentration
Sayema Rahman Rathi 4.2.2 Physiological Effects of Heat Stress and has difficulty focusing on a task, may become irritable or sick, and often
Lecturer
Department of 4.2.3 Effect of Heat Stress on Performance loses the desire to drink. The next stage is most often fainting and even
Psychology
Jagannath University death if the person is not cooled down.
12th October, 2020
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Symptoms of Heat Stress:
• Fatigue
• Workers who are constantly exposed to high temperatures or an otherwise • Sudden and severe headaches or nausea
hot environment may be at risk for developing heat stress, as they typically
• An increase in incidents
have long shifts and may be either ill-equipped or inadequately trained by
their employers to recognize this illness and take preventative measures. • A lack of alertness
• Dizziness or fainting
• Factors that contribute to heat stress are high air temperatures,
radiant heat sources, high humidity, direct physical contact with hot • Clammy, cold, or pale skin
objects, and strenuous physical activities. • Cramps or pains in the muscles
• A weak or fast pulse
• Excessive sweating
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Cont’d.. Physiological Effects of Heat Stress

Causes of Heat Stress:

• One of the direct effects of heat stress is a rise in core temperature which
• Dehydration results in an increase in metabolism. This is called the Q10 effect.
• Lack of airflow • The increased metabolism generates more heat that must be dissipated;
• Sun exposure otherwise, core temperature will increase further, resulting in a further
increase in metabolism and heat production.
• Hot and crowed conditions
Cardiovascular Response- Two basic responses are involved.
• Bushfires
• The blood vessels in the skin dilate. This brings the blood, heated in the core
of the body, to the skin and increases skin temperature.

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• The increased blood flow causes one to become flushed when in a hot
environment.
• If the temperature of the air and surroundings is lower than that of the skin,
heat is lost through convection and radiation.
• When in a comfortable environment, the skin blood flow amounts to about
5% of the cardiac output.
• In extreme heat, it can increase to 20% or more.
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• The second cardiovascular response to heat stress is an increase in heart
rate
• Workers performing tasks in factory under various condition of temperature
have increased heart rate which results in greater cardiac output.
• Under heat stress, cardiac output can increase 50 to 75%, with the excess
output diverted to the skin for cooling purposes.
Sweating- Heat is lost by evaporation of the sweat.
• There are about 2 million sweat glands in the skin of the average person.
The activation of these glands from different areas of the body shows wide
variation among individuals.
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• Some sweat more from the head, others from the torso.
• Workers exposed to intense heat stress can lose 6 to 7 L of sweat per day.
Leithead and Lind (1964) noted that sweat loss up to 10 to 12 L in 24 hours.
• During prolonged exposure to a hot environment there is gradual reduction
in the sweat rate even if water loss is replaced at the same rate by drinking.
• Excessive sweating can cause hypohydration or dehydration if fluids are not
replaced by drinking.
• Hypohydration affects thermoregulation and results in a rise of core
temperature. It can also lead to muscle cramps and reduced endurance for
physical work.
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• Heat illness-Under extreme or prolonged heat stress, several
disorders can result. The most severe can lead to death. The following
are several forms of heat illness-
Heat rash- Also known as prickly heat, is skin irritation caused by
sweat that does not evaporate from the skin. Heat rash is the
most common problem in hot work environments.
Symptoms
•Clusters of red bumps on skin
•Often appears on neck, upper chest, folds of skin
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First Aid Symptoms

• Try to work in a cooler, less humid environment when possible • Muscle spasms
• Keep the affected area dry • Pain
Heat cramps- There may be painful spasms of muscles used during First Aid
work. The cramps occur during or hours after working in a hot • Have worker rest in shady, cool area
environment. • Worker should drink water or other cool beverages
Are caused by the loss of body salts and fluid during sweating. Low salt • Wait a few hours before allowing worker to return to strenuous work
levels in muscles cause painful cramps. Tired muscles—those used for
• Have worker seek medical attention if cramps don't go away
performing the work—are usually the ones most affected by cramps.
Cramps may occur during or after working hours.

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Heat exhaustion- Heat exhaustion is characterized by muscular weakness, nausea,

vomiting, dizziness, and fainting. This is caused by dehydration and is more likely to Cont’d..
occur to individuals who are heat acclimatized and are in poor physical condition.

Symptoms First Aid

• Cool, moist skin • Have worker sit or lie down in a cool, • Heat stroke- The most serious form of heat-related illness, happens when
• Heavy sweating shady area the body becomes unable to regulate its core temperature. Sweating stops
• Headache • Give worker plenty of water or other and the body can no longer rid itself of excess heat.
cool beverages to drink
• Nausea or vomiting • Heat stroke occurs when the core body temperature rises above 40.50C and
• Cool worker with cold compresses/ice
• Dizziness packs
the body’s internal systems start to shut down. Symptoms include nausea,
• Light headedness headache, cerebral dysfunction, and bizarre behavior followed by sudden
• Do not return to work that day
• Weakness and sustained loss of consciousness.
• Thirst
• Irritability
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Symptoms: First aid:
Individual differences and Heat stress-
• Confusion • Place worker in shady, cool area
• Fainting • Loosen clothing, remove outer There are considerable differences between people with respect to their
clothing tolerance too heat stress. Several factors that account for some of these
• Seizures
• Fan air on worker; cold packs in differences include-
• Excessive sweating or red, hot, dry skin
armpits Physical fitness
• Very high body temperature
• Wet worker with cool water; apply ice
• Nausea Aging
packs, cool compresses, or ice if
available Gender
• Provide fluids (preferably water) as Body fat
soon as possible
• Stay with worker until help arrives Alcohol

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Effect of Heat Stress on Performance Cont’d..

• Also, it has been seen that productivity of workers starts to decrease

The effect of heat stress depend on exposure condition, the
at 82.40F.
motivation, ability to adjust and skills levels of the subjects.
Physical work:
• People get tired quicker in a hot and humid environment.
Performance

Decline point

• It has been seen that a man sitting idle can tolerate 1000F heat for 3
hours.
• Working at 280 kcal/h reduces that by 30 minutes.
82.40F 96.80F
Effective temperature
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• Simple Cognitive and Perceptual-Motor Performance: • Safety behavior:

• For simple task, such as visual and hearing reaction time, arithmetic problem If heat conditions are below or above certain range (≤ 630F & ≥ 730F), there
solving, coding, short term memory tasks, there had been little effect of heat are more unsafe behavior from workers.
stress on performance.
• On complex task, there is a consistent performance decline through heat
level of 86-91.40F.

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Prevention of Heat Stress

Prevention of Heat Stress: Supervisors
Cont’d..
• Allow time for employees to adjust to hot jobs when possible. It often takes Prevention of Heat Stress: Workers
two to three weeks for an employee to become acclimated to a hot • Learn to recognize the symptoms of heat stress. Taking adequate rest
environment. periods (in shade or cooler environment).
• Adjust the work schedule, if possible. Assign heavier work on cooler days or
during the cooler part of the day. • Use adequate fans for ventilation and cooling, especially when
wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).
• Reduce the workload. Increase the use of equipment on hot days to reduce
physical labor. • Wear light-colored, loose clothing (unless working around equipment
with moving parts).
• Establish a schedule for work and rest periods during hot days.
• Keep shaded from direct heat where possible (e.g., wear a hat in
• Train workers to recognize signs and symptoms of heat stress disorders and
be prepared to give first aid if necessary. direct sunshine).
• Choose appropriate employees: Avoid placing "high risk" employees in hot • Drink plenty of water: in hot environments the body requires more
work environments for extended time periods. Realize individual employees water.
vary in their tolerance to heat stress conditions.
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Thank You….!!

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Indices of Heat Stress:
Heat Stress Index- It is developed by Belding and Hatch (1955). It is the ratio of
the body’s heat load from metabolism, convection, and radiation to the
evaporative cooling capacity of the environment.
It is predicted that the heat load must be dissipated through evaporation.
Thus, the ratio of heat load to the evaporative cooling capacity of the
environment indicates the relative ease or difficulty with which the heat load
can be dissipated.
• The index takes into account environmental factors such as temperature,
humidity, and air movement, but in addition includes metabolic rate and
clothing worn by individuals.
Heat Index- In 1985, the U.S. National Weather Service began using a heat
index in certain of its forecasts.

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