Effect of precooling on heat tolerance of resting men in a hot environment: comparison with seasonal effect on it.

: Four healthy Japanese males volunteered as subjects. They were exposed to hot environment of 50 degrees C with 50% relative humidity for 61 minutes immediately after the precooling where they rested in a 10 degrees C for 30 minutes. Their physiological data were compared with that of a previous report (Iwanaga et al., 1983), in which we studied the physiological responses of the same subjects at rest in a 50 degrees C without precooling in summer and winter. After precooling (PC), all the four subjects completed heat exposure for 61 minutes. But without precooling in summer (NC), two of the subjects stopped heat exposure before 61 minutes because of hyperthermia. Rectal temperature (TR) was lower in PC than in NC before and during heat exposure. During heat exposure, TR in PC had risen at the 30th minute, but TR in NC at 20th minute. Whereas there was no difference in heart rate (HR) during heat exposure between summer and winter, in PC HR remained lower than in NC because rising time of HR was prolonged during heat exposure.