Effects of alternating exposure to cold and heat for 14 days on cold tolerance in winter

Abstract

People are exposed to heat regularly due to their jobs or daily habits in cold winter, but few studies have reported whether parallel heat and cold exposure and diminish cold acclimation. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of alternating exposure to cold and heat on cold tolerance in eight young males. A daily acclimation program to cold and heat, which consisted of 2-h sitting at 10 °C air in the morning and 2-h running and rest at 30 °C air in the afternoon, was conducted for 14 consecutive days. Eight male subjects participated in a cold tolerance test (10 °C [ ± 0.3], 40%RH[ ± 3]) before (PRE) and after (POST) completing the alternating exposure program. During the cold tolerance test, subjects remained sitting upright on a chair for 60 min. Rectal temperature (Tre) was lower in POST than in PRE during the 60-min cold tolerance test (P = 0.027). During the cold tolerance test, systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressures in POST were lower than those in PRE (P = 0.006, P = 0.005, and P = 0.004). No significant differences in skin temperatures between PRE and POST were found for the cold tolerance test. There were no significant differences in energy expenditure during cold exposure between PRE and POST. Subjects felt less cold in POST than in PRE (P = 0.013) whereas there was no significant difference in overall thermal comfort between PRE and POST. These results suggest that cold adaptation can still occur in the presence of heat stress.