Abstract
The present experiments aimed to study the effects of wearing fur hat on core temperatures (tympanum, rectum) in seven sedentary women at an ambient temperature (Ta) of 10°C. The subjects sat quietly at Ta 19°C until their core temperatures became steady state. Then, they moved to a bioclimatic chamber where Ta was controlled at 10°C with fur hat or without hat. Tympanic membrane temperature (Tty), rectal temperature (Tre), skin temperatures at the chest, arm, thigh and leg, the top surface temperature of the hair on the head and heart rate were measured during the periods of 105 min cold exposure. The subjects were fanned with wind speed of 2.4±0.03 m/s for last 5 min during the cold exposure 1 m apart from their face. The main results are summarized as follows : 1) Tty were elevated slightly and kept higher significantly in the clothing conditions of fur hat during cold exposure than in those of no hat. These values declined in greater extent only in the clothing conditions of no hat when the face of subjects was fanned. 2) Heart rates decreased significantly during cold exposure in the clothing conditions of no hat, while they did not in those of fur hat. These findings were fully discussed in terms of thermal physiology.
