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380AEW Article

Some like it hot

  • Published
  • By Capt. Leonardo Somera
  • 380th Expeditionary Medical Group
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  As the temperature and humidity rises, being aware of heat stress is important to ensure that the mission continues optimally. We will soon have the shared experience of being sweaty, tired and uncomfortable while wearing full field gear and bunkering for exercises in temperatures above 100 degrees and humidity levels above 60 percent. This is the body's way of telling us to have a drink and rest when you can.

When the body's core temperature exceeds its normal 98.6 degrees, veins and capillaries expand, the heart beats faster, and blood flow increases to outer layers of skin to allow heat to escape our bodies. If this is not enough, the brain also signals glands to release sweat to the skin surface which evaporates and cools the body further.
Because high humidity and wearing field gear decreases the sweat evaporation rate, it slows cooling. After becoming acclimated over time, this process occurs more readily and thus cools more efficiently. Although our bodies mean well by making us sweat, there are some side effects.

These cooling mechanisms can impair strength and comfort. Increasing blood flow to the skin reduces blood flow to muscles, brain, and other organs, which in turn accelerates fatigue and reduces mental alertness. The loss of water volume through sweating also contributes to fatigue by increasing blood viscosity, making it more difficult for the heart to pump and reducing the body's capacity for subsequent cooling.

This secondary effect makes it critical to replace the water lost through sweating and to take periodic breaks. If body fluid is not replenished, the cooling mechanisms lose effectiveness. Taking occasional breaks allows our bodies to more readily restore electrolyte balances by tapping into the stored resources in our tissues from eating meals. This is a natural process that has worked for thousands of years before the invention of electrolyte, energy enhancing drinks.

So as the daily sun rises over the Arabian Peninsula in the coming weeks and months ahead, remember that your body has a way to cope with the heat stresses you're about to feel. Let your body do what it needs to do to help keep you cool, energized and mentally alert. You just need to do your part by taking a breather in the shade every so often and--of course, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.