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Abstract
Older adults may be at greater risk for occupational injuries given their reduced capacity to dissipate heat, leading to greater thermal strain and potentially cognitive decrements. Purpose. To examine the effects of age and increased air velocity, during exercise in humid heat, on information processing and attention. Methods. Nine young (24 ± 1 years) and 9 older (59 ± 1 years) males cycled 4 × 15 min (separated by 15 min rest) at a fixed rate of heat production (400 W) in humid heat (35°C, 60% relative humidity) under 0.5 (low) and 3.0 (high) m·s−1 air velocity wearing coveralls. At rest, immediately following exercise (end exercise), and after the final recovery, participants performed an abbreviated paced auditory serial addition task (PASAT, 2 sec pace). Results. PASAT numbers of correct responses at end exercise were similar for young (low = 49 ± 3; high = 51 ± 3) and older (low = 46 ± 5; high = 47 ± 4) males and across air velocity conditions, and when scored relative to age norms. Psychological sweating, or an increased sweat rate with the administration of the PASAT, was observed in both age groups in the high condition. Conclusion. No significant decrements in attention and speeded information processing were observed, with age or altered air velocity, following intermittent exercise in humid heat.
Highlights
Performing physically demanding work in hot environments and/or while wearing protective clothing increases thermal strain, which has been associated with decrements in cognitive function, such as reduced short-term memory, recall, and discrimination [1]; reaction time, reasoning, and vigilance [2]; and arithmetic ability [3]
In some cases improved cognitive performance has been observed during short duration continuous aerobic exercise (i.e., 60% VO2peak, 10 min duration; choice-discrimination) [4], during intense exercise [5], and after bouts of continuous exercise of 20 and 40 min in duration (i.e., 70% VO2peak; mathematical computations) [6]
A group x time interaction was observed for paced auditory serial addition task (PASAT) number of correct responses, such that the number of correct responses were greater at end recovery compared to baseline and end exercise for the older males (Figures 3(a) and 3(d))
Summary
Performing physically demanding work in hot environments and/or while wearing protective clothing increases thermal strain, which has been associated with decrements in cognitive function, such as reduced short-term memory, recall, and discrimination [1]; reaction time, reasoning, and vigilance [2]; and arithmetic ability [3]. In some cases improved cognitive performance has been observed during short duration continuous aerobic exercise (i.e., 60% VO2peak, 10 min duration; choice-discrimination) [4], during intense exercise (i.e., at/above anaerobic threshold; shortterm memory) [5], and after bouts of continuous exercise of 20 and 40 min in duration (i.e., 70% VO2peak; mathematical computations) [6]. Attempts to reconcile these conflicting reports in the literature have proposed that they are due to variances in the participant groups (e.g., hydration status, level of heat acclimatization, and degree of sleep deprivation) and/or in the methodology (e.g., environmental conditions, mode of exercise, and type of difficulty of cognitive test) between studies. No study has examined cognitive performance during exercise in the heat as a function of age or following intermittent
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