Effects of facial fanning on local exercise performance and thermoregulatory responses during hyperthermia

Abstract

Summary To investigate the effects of hyperthermia and facial fanning during hyperthermia on hand-grip exercise performance and thermoregulatory response, we studied eight male subjects, aged 20–53 years. Subjects exercised at 20% of maximal hand-grip strength in the sitting position under three conditions: normothermia (NT), hyperthermia without fanning (HT-nf) or with fanning at 5.5 m · sec⁻¹ wind speed (HT-f). Hyperthermia (0.5° C higher oesophageal temperature than in NT) was induced by leg immersion in water at 42° C. Mean exercise performance was markedly reduced from 716 contractions (NT) to 310 (HT-nf) by hyperthermia (PPty) and mean skin temperatures were also significantly higher in HT-nf than in NT. Facial fanning caused a marked decrease in forehead skin temperature (1.5–2.0° C) and a slight decrease in T_ty, HR and PRE compared with that in HT-nf at any given time of exercise. These results suggested that hyperthermia increased thermoregulatory demands and reduced exercise performance. Facial fanning caused decreases in face skin and brain temperatures, and improved performance.