Comparative thermoregulatory responses of resting men and women

Abstract

Three men and three women were exposed to transients of air temperature (range, 16--48 degrees C). Whole-body sweating rate, local tissue heat flows, and O2 consumption in the cold were linearly related to a weighted sum of tympanic and mean skin temperatures, called "central drive," During changes in air temperature, changes in subjects' scaled estimates of thermal sensation and discomfort led changes in the physiological responses and central drive. Women's thermoregulatory responses were similar to the men's, but were shifted toward higher (warmer) values of central drive. This shift was about 0.3 degrees C for responses to heat and about 0.6 degrees C for responses to cold. With respect to the women, the mean thus showed delayed responses to the cold, and approached steady state in the cold more slowly.