Relationships between facial temperature changes, end‐exercise affect and during‐exercise changes in affect: A preliminary study

Abstract

The present study was performed as an evaluation of the relationships between changes in facial temperature and self-reported pleasure-displeasure during an acute aerobic exercise bout. Ninety-two students performed a 10-minute long session of cycle ergometry at 80-85% of age-predicted maximal heart rate. Using infrared thermography and a single-item measure of pleasure-displeasure (the Feeling Scale, FS), facial temperature and the FS score were sampled at the beginning (Min1:00) and at the end of the exercise session (Min9:00). Statistical analyses revealed that cheek (but not forehead) temperature was higher at the end of the exercise bout compared to Min1:00 (it increased by about 5%). Change in cheek temperature was negatively related to end-exercise affect (β = -0.28, P < 0.001) and to during-exercise affective changes (β = -0.35, P < 0.001). No significant relationship with forehead temperature was found. Some of the possible reasons for this differential effect as well as theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.

Acute Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Feelings of Energy in Relation to Age and Sex

“…Although a number of studies conducted during the 80s and the 90s resulted in very little support for the thermogenic hypothesis (e.g., Youngstedt, Dishman, Cureton, & Peacock, 1993), recent investigations have suggested that differences in body temperature during exercise are associated with different changes in affective responses during and immediately after exercising (Magnan, Kwan, & Bryan, 2013;Legrand, Bertucci, & Arfaoui, 2014). To the best of our knowledge, no research specifically examining the link between gender differences in thermoregulation and their association with mood changes following exercise has yet been published; so it would be an interesting direction for future research.…”

Design and emotional responses: is there coherence between what is said and what is felt? A study using biofeedback and virtual reality

“…Infrared Thermography-a Flir E60 thermal imager (19,200 pixels and 320 × 240 resolution) and FLIR Tools software were used. The regions of interest (ROIs) chosen to analyze the participants' thermal changes were the tip of the nose, cheeks, and chin, as they are considered important facial reference points for capturing emotions (Nhan and Chau 2010; Robinson et al 2012;Ioannou et al 2014;Legrand et al 2015;Salazar-López et al 2015;Cruz-Albarran et al 2017;Kosonogov et al 2017;Goulart et al 2019;Zhang et al 2019).…”

Insights on the use of thermography in human physiology practical classes

“…Emotional changes can be stimulated as described elsewhere (24). The facial temperature can also be used as an indicator of enjoyment during exercise, and students could relate the changes in temperature to changes in the perceived effort during the activity (14). Both responses are related to autonomic responses to exercise that are triggered by the onset of sensations (10).…”