Sexes differ when it comes to comfort during and after exercise, study finds

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New research from the University at Buffalo has identified differences between men and women in their preferences for maintaining comfort both while exercising and in recovery. The results could inform the development of new athletic apparel.

Human body has a variety of automatic mechanisms in place to respond to being too warm, including sweating and increased skin blood flow. The study took place in UB’s Center for Research and Education in Special Environments. Researchers had 10 men and 10 women in their early 20s exercise at low intensity- about 65 revolutions per minute on a stationary bicycle for one hour while watching a nature documentary.

Each participant was equipped with a custom-made device: a dual tubing system that was in direct contact with the back of their neck.

One set of tubing was perfused with 93.2 degrees Fahrenheit water. The other series of tubes contained -4 degree liquid, but the flow of this liquid was controlled by a valve. Participants were instructed to “thermally behave” or open the valve, thereby releasing the flow of extremely cold liquid any time they felt that their neck was uncomfortably warm while exercising.

As soon as they felt thermally comfortable again, they would turn the valve off and the 93 degree water would come through again, which effectively warmed their neck to thermoneutral range. If they felt they were getting too warm again, they could turn that valve back on.

Participants were monitored for one hour after exercising and were instructed during the recovery phase to maintain their neck temperature at a comfortable level. Researchers discovered that the female participants wanted more cooling than the males despite similar overall changes in body temperature as evidenced by the females’ more frequent use of the antifreeze liquid while exercising.

Women have more subcutaneous fat than men, and tend to have greater perceptual responses to temperature changes.

“The really interesting thing we found was during recovery,” Vargas said. “The dynamic of how skin temperature recovers versus core temperature in females compared to males was different. Skin temperature in males gradually fell following exercise, returning to normal levels within 60 minutes, skin temperature fell more rapidly in females, returning to normal levels within 10 minutes following exercise.

This rapid fall in skin temperature should theoretically decrease the desire for neck cooling in females. However, the women in the study continued to thermally behave by releasing the flow of the extremely cold liquid, likely because their core temperature remained elevated. This highlighted the importance of core temperature as a major contributor to thermal behavior following exercise, which was more apparent in females.

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