Enhancing physiological recovery and subsequent exercise performance in the heat using a phase-change material cooling blanket

This study aimed to assess the effect of a phase-change material (PCM) cooling blanket for cooling between exercise bouts on recovery of physiological parameters and subsequent exercise performance in the heat. Eighteen male volunteers were recruited to participate in human trials involving two exhaustive treadmill running bouts (Bout1 for 3 km and Bout2 for 1.5 km) in a climate chamber (temperature = 33 °C; relative humidity = 40%). Participants were randomly subjected to one of two cooling conditions for a 10-min period between exercise bouts: CON: natural cooling; 10-min PCM: with a PCM cooling blanket for 10 min. Several physiological parameters including mean skin temperature (Tskin), oral temperature (Toral), core temperature (Tcore), heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), respiratory rate (RR), peripheral capillary oxygen saturation (SpO2), average running speed and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale score were analyzed. The results showed that compared to the CON group, participants in the 10-min PCM group had a significant lower Tskin, Tcore, HR and RR at post-cooling, as well as greater reductions in mean skin temperature (ΔTskin) and core temperature (ΔTcore) from post-Bout1 to post-cooling. Additionally, the 10-min PCM group exhibited significantly lower peak Tcore, peak HR and RPE scale score during Bout2, while the average running speed during Bout2 was significantly higher. The present study suggests that cooling with a PCM cooling blanket can enhance physiological recovery and subsequent exercise performance in the heat.

Character strengths, social anxiety, and physiological stress reactivity

In this paper, the effects of character strengths on the physiological reactivity to social anxiety induced by the Trier Social Stress Task were reported. On the basis of their scores in the Chinese Virtues Questionnaire, 30 college students were assigned to either high- (n = 15) or low-character-strength (n = 15) groups. Their psychological stress and physiological data across three laboratory stages (namely, baseline, stress exposure, and post-stress) were collected. Results indicated that individuals with high character strengths exhibited rapid cardiovascular recovery from baseline to post-stress even if high- and low-character-strength groups showed similar patterns of cardiovascular arousal in response to the stress at baseline and stress exposure. These results prove that character strengths are stress-defense factors that allow for psychological and physiological adaptation to stress.

Physiological responses to repeated stress in individuals with high and low trait resilience

This study examined individual differences in trait resilience in physiological recovery from, and physiological habituation to, repeated stress (i.e. public speaking). Eighty-two college students were categorized as either high (n=40) or low (n=42) on trait resilience, based on the scores of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Subjective and physiological data were collected from participants across seven laboratory stages: baseline, stress anticipation 1, stress 1, post-stress 1, stress anticipation 2, stress 2, and post-stress 2. Results indicated that high-trait-resilient participants exhibited more complete heart rate (HR), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) recovery from the first and second stress anticipation exposures as compared to low-trait-resilient participants. High-trait-resilient participants demonstrated higher resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) coupled with more complete RSA recovery from the first and second stress anticipation exposures as compared to their low-trait-resilient counterparts. Moreover, high-trait-resilient participants exhibited pronounced SBP and DBP habituation across two successive stress anticipation exposures, with greater decreases in SBP and DBP reactivity to recurrent stress anticipation as compared to the low-trait-resilient participants. These findings suggest an adaptive physiological response pattern to recurrent stress in high-trait-resilient individuals.