Abstract
PurposeMoisture accumulation in clothing affects human performance and productivity through its impact on thermal balance and various aspects of discomfort. Building on our laboratory’s work on mapping sweat production across the body, this study aimed to obtain detailed spatial and temporal maps showing how this sweat migrates into a single clothing layer (T-shirt) during physical exercise.MethodEight male participants performed running exercise in a warm environment. Garment sweat absorption was mapped over a total running time of 50 min, in 10 separated running trials of different durations (5 min increments). After running, the garment was dissected into 22 different parts and local sweat absorption (ABSlocal) was quantified by weighing each garment part before and after drying. From ABSlocal, garment total sweat absorption (ABStotal) was estimated.ResultsAfter 50 min, Tcore rose from 37 ± 0.2 to 38.6 ± 0.3 °C, HR increased from 69 ± 15 to 163 ± 12 bpm (p < 0.001), GSL was 586 ± 86 g m−2. Clear patterns of sweat absorption reduction from superior-to-inferior and from medial-to-lateral T-shirt zones were observed, with the mid back medial and the low front hem showing the highest, respectively.ConclusionsQuantitative data on garment total and regional sweat absorption were obtained and considerable variation between different garment zones was identified. These data can support the development of sport and personal protective clothing with the end goal to prevent workers’ heat-related injuries as well as maximise human performance and productivity.
Highlights
Humans wear clothing as means of embellishment, status and modesty
Heart rate (HR) and core temperature (Tcore) were measured at 1-min intervals throughout each running trial. Both heart rate (HR) and Tcore were not significantly different (p > 0.05) at same time points and between trials, data were averaged across the 10 run durations
Thermophysiological responses of core temperature, heart rate and whole body sweat production increased over time
Summary
More importantly for human health and survival, clothing provides the body with a protective physical barrier from environmental factors, such as rain, snow, wind and solar radiation. Beside this imperative protective function, the interaction between clothing and the human body has implications in terms of biophysics of heat transfer, temperature regulation and comfort (Havenith 1999; Morrissey and Rossi 2013; Jay and Brotherhood 2016). The clothing barrier impairs evaporative heat loss from the body, this in part causing less efficient sweat evaporation (Candas et al 1979; Shapiro et al 1982; Havenith et al 2007, 2013). In the cold and/or when metabolic heat production is reduced right
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