CH. 12 - Exercise in Hot and Cold Environments Flashcards
(52 cards)
how do humans regulate temperature
humans are homeothermic
- > internal body temp is regulated by keeping a near constant, even when environmental temp changes
thermoregulation
regulation of body temp around a physiological set point
acclimation
short term adaptation to environmental stressor (days/weeks)
acclimatization
long term adaptation to environmental stressors (months/years)
in physiology, temperatures are expressed as ____
degrees Centigrade
°C = (°F-32)/1.8
°F= (°C X 1.8) +32
what are the main mechanisms of the transfers of body heat
Conduction (K)
Convection (C)
Radiation (R)
Evaporation (E)
Humidity and Heat loss
Cooling capacity of sweat
conduction (K)
heat transfer from one solid material through direct molecular contact
Convection (C)
- > heat transfer by movement of gas or liquid across a surface
- > increase movement across skin surface = increase heat exchange
- > major daily thermoregulatory factor
Radiation (R)
- > heat loss in form of infrared
- > body can give off or receive radiant heat
- > major daily thermoregulatory factor
avenues of dry heat exchange
avenues of dry heat exchange = C + K + R
- > insulation (I) is resistant to dry heat exchange
- > still layer of ideal insulator
Evaporation (E)
- > heat loss via phase change from liquid to gas
- > the primary heat loss mechanism during exercise (80%)
- > at rest, 10-20% of body heat is lost via E (process called insensible water loss)
- > clothing is resistant to E
humidity and heat loss
- > water vapour pressure (humidity) affects E
inc humidity = decreased E
dec humidity = increase E
- > high humidity limits evaporation via sweat, causes dehydration, and low humidity offers ideal sweat evap and heat loss
POAH
Peroptic-anterior-hypothalamus
- > body’s thermostat located in the brain
- > receives input from sensory thermo-receptors
- > when body temp deviates, POAH activates thermoregulatory mechanism
sensory receptors involved in thermoregulatory control
- > peripheral theromoreceptors in skin
- > central thermoreceptors in brain and spinal cord
- > POAH signals symp. NS effectors
thermoregulatory effectors
signals sent by POAH via symp NS are sent to 4 sets of effectors
- > skin arteriole effectors
- > eccrine sweat gland effectors
- > skeletal muscle effectors
- > endocrine gland effectors
what do skin arteriole effectors do
- > SNS vasocontriction (VC) will minimize heat loss
- > SNS vasodilation (VD) will enhance heat loss
how do eccrine sweat glands effectors affect temp
SNS stimulation of sweating = E heat loss
the primary neurotransmitter involved secretion of sweat onto the skin surface, is acetylcholine, thus we refer to sweat gland activation as sympathetic cholinergic stimulation
more responsive to changes in core temp than skin temp
how do skeletal muscle effectors aid in thermoregulation
help generate additional heat via shivering
- > involuntary cycle of contraction and relaxation
- > only heat production, no useful work
how do endocrine gland effectors affect thermoregulation
- > the effects of several hormones lead to inc metabolism which leads to inc heat production
- > cooling of the body stimulates the the release of thyroxin and catecholamines which then will inc metabolism
why does exercise disturb thermal homeostasis in mosts environments
- > increases metabolic heat load
effects of exercise in heat on cardiovascular function
- > skin arterioles VD to increase C heat loss, requires inc BF compared to exercise in the cold
- > POAH triggers SNS: cardiac output increases further via HR and contractility, increase VC to non-essential tissues
- > blood volume decreases (sweat), SV can’t increase (blood pooling), so HR increases further to compensate (cardiovascular drift)
limitations of exercising in heat
Cardiovascular Overload
- > consider going running on a hot day, this aerobic exercise increases metabolic heat production and the demand for in BF and O2 delivery to muscles
- > this excess heat can only be dissipated only if BF increases to the skin
- > the cardiovascular system cannot keep up with these demands and thus overloads the cardiovascular system and cannot provide sufficient BF to both exercising muscle and skin
- > interfered heat dissipation leads to impaired performance, inc risk of overheating
- > especially in untrained or non-acclimated athletes
Critical temperature theory
- > brain shuts down at exercise 40-41 deg celcius
- > helps explain limitations in trained, well-acclimated athletes
body fluid balance via sweating
its not uncommon for hot environment temps > skin, core temp
- > C, K, R are all avenues for heat gain, E only avenue of heat loss; increased dependance on evaporation means increased demand for sweating
- > eccrine sweat gland controlled by POAH
electrolyte composition during light sweating vs exercise
during light sweating, the filtrate sweat travels slowly enough through the sweat duct that there is enough time for Na and Cl reabsorption
- > when sweating rate increases during exercise, filtrate moves more quickly through the tubules, allowing for less time for reabsorption and Na Cl content of sweat is much higher