Human thermoregulatory responses to warm and cold environments
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Human thermoregulatory responses to warm and cold environments
IRAS ID
308721
Contact name
Davide Filingeri
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Southampton
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Climate change, and the related increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events such as heat waves and cold spells, is now the greatest threat to human survival. Temperature extremes harm human health. However, our basic understanding of how the body responds to heat and cold stress, both physiologically and behaviourally, and of how responses vary amongst individuals based on age, sex, ethnicity, body morphology, and co-morbidities, remain fragmentary. As a result, there is a pressing need to increase our understanding of human autonomic and behavioural body temperature regulation and of its inter-individual variability, to develop individualised prevention and response measures that can mitigate the negative impact of heat and cold exposure on human health.
The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of warm and cold thermal environments on human thermal physiology (e.g. changes in metabolic rate, body temperature, sweat production, heart rate and in the skin’s microcirculation) and perception (e.g. thermal sensation and comfort). We will assess healthy human participants differing in age (i.e. 18 to 75 years old), sex, ethnicity, and body morphology, under different climatic conditions, physical workloads, and clothing ensembles. All testing will take place in a state-of-the-art climatic chamber located within the NIHR Clinical Research Facility housed at University Hospital Southampton, which will allow precise manipulation and control of air temperature and humidity to simulate warm and cold climates. The outcomes of this study will help characterizing individual variability in human body temperature regulation and related vulnerability to heat and cold stress. Ultimately, this basic knowledge will support the design and implementation of people-centred, evidence-based policies and interventions aimed at protecting human health from extreme heat and cold.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 5
REC reference
22/WS/0136
Date of REC Opinion
13 Oct 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion