Thermal stress and human performance.

Abstract

ENANDER AE, HYGGE S. Thermal stress and human performance. Scand J Work Environ Health 1990;16(suppl 1):44-50. There is evidence that the thermal stress encountered in many work environments may negatively affect various aspects of human performance and behavior. Evaluation of the empirical research is, however, complicated by differences in both the methodology and the definition of the basic stimulus. Effects of heat and cold stress are briefly reviewed, with particular regard to theoretical considerations.Key terms: cold, heat, performance, social behavior.People are subjected to thermal stress in many work environments, as, eg, in outdoor work under intemperate climatic conditions or in the processing of products which require heat-producing technology or strict hygienic standards. While physiological limits of endurance are seldom reached in today's work environment, increasing interest is being focused on the possible negative effects on behavior. A relationship between thermal stress and accident occurrence was documented over 50 years ago, and a similar relationship to unsafe work behavior was recently demonstrated (1). These relationships form a background to the following discussion of the central issues in research on the behavioral effects of thermal stress.

Association between Heat Stress and Occupational Injury among Thai Workers: Findings of the Thai Cohort Study

“…A relationship between heat stress and injury occurrence has been reported several times over the last 35 yr [11][12][13][14] . However these studies were conducted in developed non-tropical countries; this leaves unanswered questions about the effect of heat stress on occupational injury in tropical developing countries where temperatures and humidity are already high.…”

Effects of Wearing Gloves and Sex on Endurance Time and the Corresponding Finger Skin Temperature During a Cold Immersion

“…Manual dexterity is frequently used to evaluate hand function and is important during hand manipulation. Hand/finger skin temperature is considered a vital factor in dexterity (Schiefer et al, 1984;Enander, 1984;Enander & Hygge, 1990;Brajkovic & Ducharme, 2003, Chen et al, 2010 and hand performance (Riley & Cochran, 1984;Havenith et al, 1995, Chen et al, 2010. More importantly, such impairment may lead to an increased number of accidents (Müller, 1982; cited by Havenith et al, 1995).…”

“…Exposure to cold environments and contact with cold materials have been reported impair tactile sensitivity in the hands (Enander, 1984), hand dexterity (Schiefer et al, 1984;Riley & Cochran, 1984;Enander & Hygge, 1990;Heus et al, 1995), and tracking performance (Goonetilleke & Hoffmann, 2009). Manual dexterity is frequently used to evaluate hand function and is important during hand manipulation.…”

“…Wearing gloves could delay the reduction in FST and reduce the perception of pain (Suizu et al, 2004;Suizu & Harada, 2005), and it is supposed that wearing gloves could also extend ET. Consequently, it is worthwhile and interesting to identify the FST at the point of pain tolerance during cold immersion, for FST has been reported as a crucial factor affecting hand dexterity (Schiefer et al, 1984;Enander, 1984;Enander & Hygge, 1990;Brajkovic & Ducharme, 2003, Chen et al, 2010. Wolff (1984) defined pain tolerance as 'that point at which a subject will terminate or withdraw from noxious stimulation' and argued that tolerance measures in the laboratory are analogous to clinical pain.…”

Evaluation of some physical hazards which may affect health in primary schools

“…Studies have shown that decrease in self-confidence performance and in the capacity of thinking and concentration occurs as the temperature increases (16) and the optimum level of temperature for a comfortable learning environment is 20-21°C (10,17).…”