Heat Exchanges of Nude Men in the Cold: Effect of Humidity, Temperature and Windspeed

¹ From the Physiology Branch, Environmental Protection Research Division, QM Research and Engineering Center, Natick, Massachusetts

Six healthy young men were exposed nude for 2 hours to various combinations of wind (< 1 and 10 mph), temperature (50° and 60°F) and relative humidity (30 and 95%). These conditions have been identified with cold-wet environments by meteorologists. Skin and rectal temperatures, oxygen consumption and subjective sensations were recorded. The results indicate that wind had the greatest impact on both the subjective and physiological responses; dry bulb had a marked although lesser effect. Relative humidity had little or no effect on any of the responses except heat production. Thus, under the conditions of this study, little evidence was found for an important role of humidity, per se, on either body heat exchanges or subjective sensations of cold.

Note:
with the technical assistance of J. A. Vaughan.