Premium
Perceptual Responses to Exercise Heat‐Stress in Smokers versus Non‐Smokers
Author(s) -
Kennedy Kallean Joan,
Caldwell Aaron,
Garcia Nathanael,
Upton Martha,
Hartzell Kristen,
Ganio Matthew
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2018.32.1_supplement.lb261
Subject(s) - mood , thirst , feeling , perceived exertion , physical therapy , heart rate , cognition , sensation , psychology , medicine , anxiety , audiology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , clinical psychology , blood pressure , social psychology , psychiatry , neuroscience
Physiological and psychological/mental stress occurs as individuals undergo exercise‐ heat stress. The latter can include perceptual measures, feelings of mood, and cognition performance. Decrements in these may lead to a decrease in productivity and motivation. Prior work suggests that smokers and non‐smokers have physiological differences, thus it is possible that smokers perceive exercise heat‐stress differently. It is important to understand how smokers “feel” during heat stress, especially when they are being physically active. Purpose The purpose of this pilot study was to determine whether exercise heat stress has negative cognitive and perceptual effects on smokers versus non‐smokers. Methods Three current male smokers (SMK: 20.6 ± 2.3 yr; 6 ± 1.7 cigarettes/day; 86.6 ± 10.2 kg; 21 ± 3.1% body fat) and 3 non‐smokers (N‐SMK: 24.6 ± 5.1 yr; 80.3 ± 3.6kg; 20.7 ± 8.2% body fat) participated in an experimental trial consisting of subjects performing 60 total minutes of cycling. Specifically, there were three 20‐minute exercise periods with two 20 minute rest periods in between each exercise bout. Participants cycled at a target metabolic heat production of 6 watts/kg in an environmental chamber at 40°C, 35 % relative humidity. The subject's internal temperature ( Trec ) via rectal thermistor, mean body temperature (T body ), heart rate and perceptual measures were collected every 5 and 15 minutes throughout each exercise and rest periods. Perceptual measures included perceived exertion, thirst, thermal sensation, muscle pain, motivation to continue, feeling and comfort. Results During the experimental trial, T rec at baseline for SMK and N‐SMK was 37.36±0.15 and 37.43±0.7°C, respectively; at the end of exercise (i.e., min 60) T rec was 38.03±0.2 and 38.34±0.7°C. T body for SMK and N‐SMK at the end of exercise was 39.5±0.16 and 39.7±0.7°C, respectively. HR was similar in SMK (132 ± 16.7 bpm) vs. N‐SMK (133±19.1 bpm). At the end of the last exercise bout the final perceptual ratings for SMK and N‐SMK were 10±3 and 11±1 for RPE, 4±2 and 4±3 for Thirst, 4.7±0.6 and 5.6±0.3 for Thermal, 1.3±0.6 and 1.2±0.8 for Muscle Pain, 4±2 and 4±1 for motivation to continue, 3±2 and 2±1 and for feeling and 2±1 and 2±1 for comfort. Conclusion In this pilot study, when exercising at a similar relative rate of metabolic heat production, smokers had similar physiological responses. Likewise, the perceptual variables obtained were also similar between smokers and non‐smokers. This has implications for occupational settings in which smokers are heat stressed and trying to complete tasks that involve cognitive thought processes. Support or Funding Information Funding provided by: Arkansas Department of Higher Education and the University of Arkansas This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .