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03-12-08, 04:52 PM
Somebody told me their doctor told them that getting acclimated to colder weather included having more capillaries sending hot blood out to the extremities. That makes sense to me, as it would explain how my hands and feet are warm when others' are cold. :)
Actually, the research I've done shows that people don't physically acclimate to cold weather the way we do to hot weather. The NY Times ran a good article (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/health/nutrition/17BEST.html?ex=1358830800&en=e15dc59ce680292d&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink) on the subject by Gina Kolata, one of my favorite writers. Here's a quote:
Another myth is that you have to acclimatize to cold, just as you do to heat. It’s true that peoples’ bodies adapt to hot weather and that adaptation makes people feel better when they exercise in the heat. It also improves performance. With heat adaptation, you sweat more profusely, your sweat is less salty and your blood volume increases.
But exercise physiologists find only modest adaptation to cold. The body’s main responses to cold — constricting blood vessels near the skin, shunting blood to the body’s core and shivering — do not improve if you spend more time in the cold. Nor are the physically fit any better at adaptation than the sedentary.
“Right now, we’re not sure if there is any degree of habituation,” said Robert Kenefick, a research physiologist at the Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine.
Of course I agree that there is psychological adaptation to cold. Most people who hate the cold (that is to say, most people) have never actually done a physical activity outdoors while properly dressed.
Actually, the research I've done shows that people don't physically acclimate to cold weather the way we do to hot weather. The NY Times ran a good article (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/health/nutrition/17BEST.html?ex=1358830800&en=e15dc59ce680292d&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink) on the subject by Gina Kolata, one of my favorite writers. Here's a quote:
Another myth is that you have to acclimatize to cold, just as you do to heat. It’s true that peoples’ bodies adapt to hot weather and that adaptation makes people feel better when they exercise in the heat. It also improves performance. With heat adaptation, you sweat more profusely, your sweat is less salty and your blood volume increases.
But exercise physiologists find only modest adaptation to cold. The body’s main responses to cold — constricting blood vessels near the skin, shunting blood to the body’s core and shivering — do not improve if you spend more time in the cold. Nor are the physically fit any better at adaptation than the sedentary.
“Right now, we’re not sure if there is any degree of habituation,” said Robert Kenefick, a research physiologist at the Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine.
Of course I agree that there is psychological adaptation to cold. Most people who hate the cold (that is to say, most people) have never actually done a physical activity outdoors while properly dressed.