Microclimate Cooling Effect on Perceived Exertion in Four Heat/Exercise Scenarios

摘要

Operation Desert Storm demonstrated a need for individual microclimate coolingduring strenuous activity. Evaluation of a cooling system should not only consider physiological functions but subjective measures of comfort, such as ratings of perceived exertion (RPE). The objectives of this study were to evaluate a cooling suit's effect on: (a) subjective RPE, (b) heart rate (HR), and (c) the magnitude of the correlation between RPE and HR. Thirty-one U.S. Marine Corps subjects, wearing chemical defense ensembles, were tested in four separate scenarios of heat/exercise combinations during both cooling suit and control sessions. Results of repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance showed that RPE was significantly lowered by wearing a cooling suit during only the most strenuous of the four scenarios. A decrease in the magnitude of the correlation between RPE and HR during all four cooling suit sessions indicated that a microclimate cooling suit interfered with perception of exertion.