Summary
Two series of experiments were performed in physically untrained subjects. In series A (heat adaptation, HA), seven male subjects were adapted to dry heat (five consecutive days at 55‡ C ambient air temperature (Ta) for 1 h · day−1) under resting conditions. Before and after HA, the subjects' shivering responses were determined in a cold test (Ta+10 to 0‡ C). In series B, eight male subjects underwent mild exercise training (five consecutive days at a heart rate, HR, of 120b · min−1) under Ta conditions individually adjusted (Ta + 15 to +5‡ C) to prevent both sweating and cold sensations. Before and after “sweatless training≓, the subjects were subjected to a combined cold and heat test. During HA the thresholds for shivering, cutaneous vasodilatation (thumb and forearm) and sweating were shifted significantly (p<0.05) towards lower mean body temperatures (\(\bar T_b \)). The mean decrease in threshold\(\bar T_b \) was 0.36‡ C. “Sweatless training≓ resulted in a mean increase in work rate (at HR 120b · min−1) and oxygen pulse of 13 and 8%, respectively. However, “sweatless training≓ did not change the threshold\(\bar T_b \) for shivering or sweating. Neither HA nor “sweatless training≓ changed the slopes of the relationships of shivering and sweating to\(\bar T_b \). It is concluded that the previously reported lowering of shivering and sweating threshold\(\bar T_b \) in long-distance runners is not due to an increased fitness level, but is essentially identical with HA. The decreased shivering threshold following HA is interpreted as “cross adaptation≓ produced by the Stressors cold and heat.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Adams T, Heberling EJ (1958) Human physiological responses to a standardized cold stress as modified by physical fitness. J Appl Physiol 13:226–230
Adolph EF (1956) General and specific characteristics of physiological adaptations. Am J Physiol 184:18–28
Avellini BA, Shapiro Y, Fortney SM, Wenger CB, Pandolf KB (1982) Effects on heat tolerance of physical training in water and on land. J Appl Physiol: Respirat Environ Exercise Physiol 53:1291–1298
Baum E, Brück K, Schwennicke HP (1976) Adaptive modifications in the thermoregulatory system of long-distance runners. J Appl Physiol 40:404–410
Benzinger TH (1969) Heat regulation: Homeostasis of central temperature in man. Physiol Rev 49:671–759
Bleichert A, Behling K, Scarperi M, Scarperi S (1973) Thermoregulatory behavior of man during rest and exercise. Pflügers Arch 338:303–312
Brück K, Hinckel P (1984) Thermal afferents to the hypothalamus and thermal adaptation. J Therm Biol 9:7–10
Brück K, Wünnenberg W, Gallmeier H, Ziehm B (1970) Shift of threshold temperature for shivering and heat polypnea as a mode of thermal adaptation. Pflügers Arch 321:159–172
Brück K, Baum E, Schwennicke HP (1976) Cold-adaptive modifications in man induced by repeated short-term cold-exposures and during a 10-day and -night cold-exposure. Pflügers Arch 363:125–133
Davies CTM (1981) Effect of acclimatization to heat on the regulation of sweating during moderate and severe exercise. J Appl Physiol: Respirat Environ Exercise Physiol 50:741–746
Fox RH, Goldsmith R, Kidd DJ, Lewis HE (1963) Blood flow and other thermoregulatory changes with acclimatization to heat. J Physiol 166:548–562
Golenhofen K, Hensel H, Hildebrandt G (1963) Durchblutungsmessung mit WÄrmeleitelementen. Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart
Henane R (1981) Acclimatization to heat in man: giant or windmill. A critical reappraisal. In: Szelényi Z, Székely M (eds) Advances in Physiol Sciences, vol 32: Contributions to Thermal Physiology. Pergamon Press, Oxford; Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, pp 275–284
Henane R, Valatx JL (1973) Thermoregulatory changes induced during heat acclimatization by controlled hyperthermia in man. J Physiol 230:255–271
Henane R, Flandrois R, Charbonnier JP (1977) Increase in sweating sensitivity by endurance conditioning in man. J Appl Physiol: Respirat Environ Exercise Physiol 43:822–828
Hensel H, Banet M (1978) Thermoreceptor activity, insulative and metabolic changes in cold and warm adapted cats. In: Houdas Y, Guieu JD (eds) New trends in thermal physiology. Masson, Paris, New York, pp 53–55
Hensel H, Brandt S (1977) 6-Plate element for recording of cutaneous blood flow. Pflügers Arch 368:165–167
Hessemer V, Brück K (1983) Thermally-controlled exercise —adaptive effects on thermoregulation in man. In: Pierau FK, Simon E, Taylor DCM (eds) Proceedings Int Symposium on temperature regulation and adaptation. J Therm Biol 8:171–173
Hessemer V, Brück K (1985) Influence of menstrual cycle on shivering, skin blood flow, and sweating responses measured at night. J Appl Physiol: Respirat Environ Exercise Physiol 59:1902–1910
Hessemer V, Langusch D, Brück K, Bödeker RH, Breidenbach T (1984) Effect of slightly lowered body temperatures on endurance performance in humans. J Appl Physiol: Respirat Environ Exercise Physiol 57:1731–1737
McMurray RG, Horvath SM (1979) Thermoregulation in swimmers and runners. J Appl Physiol: Respirat Environ Exercise Physiol 46:1086–1092
Nadel ER, Bullard RW, Stolwijk JAJ (1971) Importance of skin temperature in the regulation of sweating. J Appl Physiol 31:80–87
Nadel ER, Pandolf KB, Roberts MF, Stolwijk JAJ (1974) Mechanisms of thermal acclimation to exercise and heat. J Appl Physiol 37:515–520
Nielsen B (1982) Physical work and thermoregulation. In: Hildebrandt G, Hensel H (eds) Biological Adaptation. Thieme-Verlag, Stuttgart; Thieme-Stratton, New York, pp 166–178
Piwonka RW, Robinson S, Gay VL, Manalis RS (1965) Preacclimatization of men to heat by training. J Appl Physiol 20:379–384
Ramanathan NL (1964) A new weighting system for mean surface temperatures of the human body. J Appl Physiol 19:531–533
Roberts MF, Wenger CB, Stolwijk JAJ, Nadel ER (1977) Skin blood flow and sweating changes following exercise training and heat acclimation. J Appl Physiol: Respirat Environ Exercise Physiol 43:133–137
Roddie IC, Shepherd JT, Whelan RF (1957) The contrubiton of constrictor and dilator nerves to the skin vasodilatation during body heating. J Physiol 136:489–497
Rowell LB (1983) Cardiovascular adjustments to thermal stress. In: Shepherd JT, Abboud FM, Geiger SR (eds) Handbook of physiology. Am Physiol Soc, Bethesda, sect 2, vol 3, part 2, pp 967–1023
Schwennicke HP, Brück K (1976) Thermoregulatory modifications in the course of repeated moderate heat exposures in man. Abstract Pflügers Arch 365:R 27
Senay LC, Kok R (1977) Effects of training and heat acclimatization on blood plasma contents of exercising men. J Appl Physiol: Respirat Environ Exercise Physiol 43:591–599
Shvartz E, Bhattacharya A, Sperinde SJ, Brock PJ, Sciaraffa D, Beaumont W van (1979) Sweating responses during heat acclimation and moderate conditioning. J Appl Physiol: Respirat Environ Exercise Physiol 46:675–680
Wenger CB, Roberts MF, Nadel ER, Stolwijk JAJ (1975) Thermoregulatory control of finger blood flow. J Appl Physiol 38:1078–1082
Whitney RJ (1954) Circulatory changes in the forearm and hand of man with repeated exposure to heat. J Physiol (Lond) 125:1–24
Wyndham CH, Robers GG, Senay LC, Mitchell D (1976) Acclimatization in a hot, humid environment: cardiovascular adjustments. J Appl Physiol 40:779–785
Zeisberger E, Ewen K (1983) Ontogenetic, thermoadaptive and pharmacological changes in threshold and slope for thermoregulatory reactions in the guinea-pig (Cavia aperea porcellus). J. Therm Biol 8:55–57
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This study was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Br 184/16-3)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hessemer, V., Zeh, A. & Brück, K. Effects of passive heat adaptation and moderate sweatless conditioning on responses to cold and heat. Europ. J. Appl. Physiol. 55, 281–289 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02343800
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02343800