Regulation of body temperature:
things sometimes seem different
to what they are

Why do not all of us suffer from a heat stroke under hot weather conditions and physical exercise, and why do some of us do so even in moderate temperatures?

Reflections in two parts, based on publications of Jonathan Dugas* und Ross Tucker**

Since we try to explain biestmilch to athletes of different performance levels we especially look at phemonena like the one we introduce in the following chapters. Athletes love to measure, they love it to rely on machines and computers and get certainty about their training condition from these devices. Therefore studies play a major role in the life of ambitious sportsmen. Studies are considered as a proof of efficacy and predictability, they give people confidence. But beside measuring it should be integral part training to trust the own experience, to make experiences and to analyse them. Star athletes like Chris McCormack do this in a very sophisticated way, and with age this capability becomes an even more fundamental part of training.
   Athletes talk a lot about well-being and experiencing limits, they know that there is no general recipe that applies to  everybody. But many of them are not self-confident enough to trust their own oberservations.
   Recently I found an article on the »The Science of Sport« blog that is outlining the discrepancy between experience and study results. The authors give a view on the physiological context that questions the views we are used to. They re-analyse old studies and present different conclusions. Their way of looking at old data really broadens our mind.

A heat stroke has nothing to do with the weather condition: a heretical proposition?

An analysis and re-interpretation of the heat stroke and the temperature regulation of the human body by Jonathan Dugas and Ross Tucker.

Published in November 2008, The Science of Sport Blog

It happens very often the 2 scientists stress that there is no clear hypothesis, no rationale for the study. In many cases the results are anticipated. This means that only the parameters are measured that underscore and fulfill our assumptions. In sports science, exercise physiology or medical science this happens quite frequently. This is done in a way that we the readers do not realise it easily. It needs quite some expertise to detect that we are messed around with the results.
   A very good example is body temperature and heat stroke. It is recommended to all athletes who do believe so much in science and its methods. Take a look out of the box. The following is an excerpt of an article that fits perfectly well biestmilch’s philosophy and scientific approach.
   To get into this topic in cheerful way Jonathan and Ross cite an example from he famous comic »Calvin and Hobbes«.

Measuring is taking place at a point where the athlete stops under the assumption that the reason for breaking off is exactly in this moment of time.

Experience tells another story

Regardless of the air temperature, humidity and windspeed, your body temperature will regularly hit about 39 degrees Celsius, with no ill effects whatsoever - it’s a controlled “hyperthermia”, and you’re halfway to heat stroke without ever even realising it! It’s actually amazing to consider how exercise makes the “abnormal” feel normal. Take a physiological snapshot of yourself during a 10-mile tempo run: Your heart rate is 175 beats per minute, your breathing rate 54 breaths per minute, your body temperature is 39 degrees Celsius. A doctor confronted with those parameters would likely admit you to an ICU, yet you feel absolutely perfect during exercise!
   This temperature you can tolerate perfectly well during exercise. All of you who are physically active make this experience every other day. Isn't it amazing that a body condition considered as sick by a doctor feels healthy and fit during exercise.

How you feel is obviously not necessarily the same as how the parameter pretend you to be. When then does a heat stroke occur?

A similar concept applies to exercise. And the point of all this is to introduce the issue of heatstroke to you. Your body is a remarkably designed machine, capable of loosing far more heat than you might realise. Yet it chooses to allow you to gain heat and you become “hyperthermic” during exercise even on cold days. The conclusion from this statement is that a heat stroke is only to some extend related to the outdoor temperature.

Read more on: www.sportscientist.com