COMPARISON OF PHYSIOLOGICAL REACTIONS AND PHYSIOLOGICAL STRAIN IN HEALTHY MEN UNDER HEAT STRESS IN DRY AND STEAM HEAT SAUNAS
Journal Title: Biology of Sport - Year 2014, Vol 31, Issue 2
Abstract
The aim of the paper was to follow up major physiological reactions, provoked by heat stress during dry and wet sauna baths. A physical strain index and subjective estimation of heat comfort of subjects who had not taken sauna baths before was also evaluated. Ten healthy males aged 25-28 underwent a dry sauna bath and then after a one-month break they underwent a steam sauna bath. Each time, they entered the sauna chamber3 times for 15 minutes with five-minute breaks. During breaks they cooled their bodies with a cold shower and then rested in a sitting position. Before and after the baths, body mass and blood pressure were measured. Rectal temperature and heart rate were monitored during the baths. The physiological strain index (PSI) and cumulative heat strain index (CHSI) were calculated. Subjects assessed heat comfort by Bedford’s scale. Greater body mass losses were observed after the dry sauna bath compared to the wet sauna (-0.72 vs. -0.36 kg respectively). However, larger increases in rectal temperature and heart rate were observed during the wet sauna bath (38.8% and 21.2% respectively). Both types of sauna baths caused elevation of systolic blood pressure, but changes were greater after the dry one. Diastolic pressure was reduced similarly. Subjective feelings of heat comfort as well as PSI (4.83 ± 0.29 vs. 5.7 ± 0.28) and CHSI (76.3 ± 18.4 vs. 144.6 ± 21.7) were greater during the wet sauna bath. It can be concluded that due to high humidity and reduction of thermoregulation mechanisms, the wet sauna is more stressful for the organism than the dry sauna, where the temperature is higher with low humidity. Both observed indexes (PSI and CHSI) could be appropriate for objective assessment of heat strain during passive heating of the organism.
Authors and Affiliations
Wanda Pilch, Zbigniew Szyguła, Tomasz Palka, Paweł Pilch, Szczepan Wiecha, Łukasz Tota
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP59201
- DOI -
- Views 75
- Downloads 0
Effect of exercise and α-lipoic acid supplementation on oxidative stress in rats
We investigated the effect of exercise (running on a treadmill) and α-lipoic acid supplementation for 6 weeks on body mass; the levels of blood and liver malondialdehyde (MDA), creatine kinase (CK), and lactate dehydroge...
ACCEPTED LEVEL OF RISK OF DOPING USE IN THE VIEW OF YOUNG ATHLETES
The paper is a continuation of studies aimed at verifying the hypothesis from decision theory stating that the risk in action is the greatest when the probability of loss is high, and the higher the value attached to tha...
ACUTE EXERCISE-INDUCED MUSCLE INJURY
While much research has recently been focussing on the chronic effects of overtraining, the acute damaging effects of individual eccentric exercise bouts on muscle remain of interest and underlie long-term training effec...
Physiological responses to graded exercise test in youths with spastic tetraplegia subjected to upper extremity training
The aim of the study was to assess the effects of exercise therapy of moderate intensity on cardiorespiratory functions in youths suffering from tetraplegia in cerebral palsy. Eight schoolboys, aged 17.50.3 years, suffe...
Influence of moderate physical training on the GH/IGF-1 axis in diabetic rats
The influence of moderate physical training on serum growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor –1 (IGF-1) and binding protein ( IGFBP-3) in experimental diabetic rats was investigated. Male Wistar rats were divided...