Exercise in Hot and Cold Environments
1. Introduction and Objectives
This chapter focuses on how the human body manages temperatures during
physical activity in extreme environments — heat and cold. The goals include
understanding:
How body temperature is regulated normally.
How exercise changes physiological responses in heat.
What health dangers exercise in heat presents.
How the body adapts over time to heat and cold exposure.
How exercise affects the body in cold environments.
What risks cold exercise entails.
2. Body Temperature Regulation
Homeothermy and Thermoregulation
Humans are homeothermic, meaning they maintain a stable internal temperature
regardless of the outside environment. This process, thermoregulation, involves
balancing heat production and heat loss to keep core temperature near 37°C
(98.6°F).
Adaptation to Environment
Acclimation: Short-term physiological changes from days or weeks of
exposure to heat or cold.
Acclimatization: Long-term changes that happen over months or years.
3. Heat Production and Transfer in the Body
Metabolic Heat Production
When the body produces energy (ATP), only about 25% is used for actual work
(muscle contractions, etc.). The remaining 75% is released as heat, which raises
body temperature.
Heat Transfer Mechanisms
Heat moves from the core to the skin via blood and leaves the body through several
routes:
Conduction: Direct transfer of heat through contact. Example: sitting on a cold
bench cools your body.
Convection: Heat transfer by movement of air or water over the skin. Wind
increases convection.
Radiation: Heat lost or gained via infrared rays from surrounding objects or
the sun.
Evaporation: Sweating cools the body when sweat evaporates, which absorbs
heat from the skin.
4. Heat Loss Factors
Humidity: High humidity means the air is saturated with moisture, reducing
sweat evaporation and hindering cooling.
Clothing: Clothes can block evaporation and trap heat; loose, breathable
clothes help cooling.
When air temperature is higher than skin temperature (~35°C), conduction,
convection, and radiation can cause heat gain, so evaporation becomes the
only way to lose heat.
5. Control of Body Temperature
The preoptic-anterior hypothalamus (POAH) in the brain acts as the body’s
thermostat:
It receives temperature information from sensors in the skin (peripheral
thermoreceptors) and in the brain/spinal cord (central thermoreceptors).
If the body is too hot, POAH activates:
Vasodilation: blood vessels in the skin widen, increasing blood flow to skin to
lose heat.
Sweating: sweat glands produce sweat for evaporative cooling.
If the body is too cold, POAH activates:
Vasoconstriction: blood vessels narrow to reduce heat loss.
Shivering: involuntary muscle contractions generate heat.
Hormonal changes: increase metabolism to produce heat.
6. Physiological Responses to Exercise in Heat
Exercise increases metabolic heat production significantly.
To lose this heat, blood flow to the skin increases (vasodilation), but this
competes with muscle blood flow.
Sweating increases to cool the body, causing fluid loss.
Blood volume decreases due to sweating, which reduces stroke volume
(amount of blood the heart pumps per beat).
To compensate, heart rate increases (cardiovascular drift).
If blood flow can’t meet demands for muscles and skin, overheating and
fatigue risk increase.
The brain limits exercise when core temperature reaches about 40-41°C to
prevent damage.
7. Sweating and Fluid Balance
Sweating is the primary cooling method during exercise in heat.
Sweat contains less sodium (salt) than blood plasma because some salt is
reabsorbed in sweat ducts.
With light sweating, sweat is very dilute, heavy sweating leads to more salty
sweat.
Trained individuals can conserve more salt because of increased aldosterone
hormone sensitivity.
Losing 1.6 to 2.0 liters of sweat per hour can cause dehydration, reducing
blood volume and heart function.
Hormones aldosterone and antidiuretic hormone (ADH) help regulate fluid and
salt retention at the kidneys to maintain balance.
8. Health Risks During Exercise in Heat
Six main factors influence heat stress:
Metabolic heat production (from exercise intensity)
Air temperature
Humidity (water vapor pressure)
Air movement (wind)
Radiant heat from sun or surfaces
Clothing insulation
Measuring Heat Stress:
Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) combines air temperature, humidity,
and radiant heat for a more accurate heat stress measure.
Formula: WBGT = 0.1 × Dry-bulb temp + 0.7 × Wet-bulb temp + 0.2 × Globe
temp
Heat Illnesses:
Heat cramps: painful muscle spasms from salt loss and dehydration.
Heat exhaustion: fatigue, dizziness, nausea from severe dehydration and low
blood volume.
Heatstroke: body’s heat regulation fails; core temp >40°C; confusion and
unconsciousness; requires immediate cooling.
9. Preventing Heat Illness
Avoid outdoor activity when WBGT > 28°C.
Schedule exercise during cooler parts of the day.
Drink fluids regularly; do not restrict fluids.
Minimize clothing, especially in sports like football.
Organizers should monitor conditions and stop events if necessary.
10. Acclimation to Heat
Repeated exposure to heat results in:
Increased plasma volume (more blood volume).
Lower heart rate during exercise.
Increased sweating rate, earlier sweating onset, and more dilute sweat to
conserve salt.
Lower core temperature during exercise.
Women sweat less overall but have more sweat glands active; this is better in humid
climates but less effective in dry heat.
11. Exercise in Cold Environments
Cold stress results in:
Vasoconstriction to reduce heat loss.
Shivering to generate heat through muscle contractions.
Increased metabolism (non-shivering thermogenesis) stimulated by
hormones.
Behavioral adaptations like wearing more clothes or seeking shelter.
12. Cold Acclimation Types
Cold habituation: repeated exposure without much heat loss reduces
shivering and vasoconstriction.
Metabolic acclimation: repeated cold exposure with heat loss increases
metabolism and shivering.
Insulative acclimation: when metabolism can’t keep heat, the body improves
skin insulation by reducing blood flow to skin.
13. Factors Affecting Heat Loss in Cold
Body composition matters: more muscle and fat provide insulation.
Children and elderly lose heat faster due to body size and fat/muscle
distribution.
Windchill increases heat loss by moving warm air away from skin.
Heat loss in cold water is much faster than in cold air.
14. Cold Effects on Muscle and Metabolism
Cold reduces muscle force, speed, and power.
Fatigue increases and metabolic heat production decreases during prolonged
cold exercise.
Cold suppresses fat breakdown due to vasoconstriction in fat tissue.
Blood glucose remains stable, but low blood sugar reduces shivering.
15. Health Risks in Cold
Hypothermia: core temperature drops below 34.5°C, leading to impaired brain
function; below 29.5°C, body functions fail.
Cardiorespiratory effects: slow heart rate and reduced breathing.
Frostbite: freezing of peripheral tissues caused by excess vasoconstriction;
can cause tissue death.
Exercise-induced asthma: cold dry air causes airway irritation in many winter
athletes.
16. Treatment for Cold-Related Conditions
Mild hypothermia: remove from cold, provide warm, dry clothing, and warm
fluids.
Severe hypothermia: careful handling to avoid heart issues, slow rewarming,
hospital care.
Frostbite: gradually warm only if there's no risk of refreezing.
Summary
The body carefully balances heat production and loss.
Exercise in heat stresses the cardiovascular system and risks dehydration
and overheating.
Sweating is essential but must be balanced with fluid and salt intake.
Acclimation improves heat tolerance.
Cold exposure triggers vasoconstriction and shivering to conserve and
produce heat.
Cold increases fatigue and risk of hypothermia and frostbite.
Proper preparation, clothing, hydration, and acclimation can reduce risks in
both environments.
