The hot weather adds to the challenges of competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Olympics recommend that athletes acclimate before competition through a technique called thermal training, which helps the body adapt.
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At this summer’s Olympic Games, athletes challenged their physical limits by kicking, running, cycling, jumping, flipping and more. For some athletes, these events may push the limits of their heat tolerance.
“[The] “The combination of heat and humidity can really overwhelm an athlete very quickly,” said Dr. Frances O’Connor, professor of military emergency medicine and medical director of the Alliance for Health and Military Performance at Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland. – The Medical Journal recently author of an article Journal of the American Medical Association Heat-Related Illnesses in Athletes.
O’Connor said exertional heat stroke is most likely to occur during competition. “In Paris, your goal is to get a medal. Or if you’re a soldier trying to complete your course, or you’re trying to get a [personal record] In a marathon – you push and you can get yourself into trouble,” he said.
Heat stroke is a very serious illness in which the patient’s core temperature often reaches 104 degrees or higher and the patient’s mental status is altered; it can lead to organ failure and death. Even if you don’t participate in competitive sports, this can happen if you stay out in hot weather for too long without proper hydration.
O’Connor says one of the best ways to avoid trouble is heat acclimatization, also known as heat training. The idea involves controlling exposure to heat stress, which causes changes in the body that help it cope with hot, humid environments. In fact, the Olympic medical department issued a guideline recommending that athletes heading to Paris conduct high-temperature training in advance.
Heat training isn’t just for competitive athletes. Recommended for military personnel and those who work outdoors in hot weather. O’Connor said it might even be useful to the general healthy public. “People shouldn’t be afraid of the heat,” he said. “We can develop and add adaptive responses to help us succeed at high temperatures. But they have to be controlled.
If done well, heat training could help people stay more comfortable during the long, intense heat of 2024’s unusually hot summer and the more frequent heat waves expected in the future due to climate change.
Solution with warning
Before getting into the topic of heat training, there are two things to note.
One is that it’s not for everyone. Heat-related illnesses are serious and potentially fatal. And it can happen quickly.
“Everyone needs to be aware and self-assess and work with their health care providers, trainers and others to take into account any personal factors,” said Dr. Officer Eugene Livar said. And, when people work in the sun for long periods of time or in large quantities in high temperatures, it can lead to heat stroke, which is considered a serious medical emergency.
The second reason, climate scientists say, is that the ultimate goal for our planet is not to say, oh, well, it’s getting hotter, so it’s up to individuals to figure out what to do about it. Scientists stress that as climate change continues to push up temperatures, the ultimate global strategy to control heat is to reduce pollution, mainly from burning fossil fuels.
But at the same time, it’s very hot outside. In recent weeks, temperatures have topped 120 degrees in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Delhi, India.
Healthy Adaptations to Heat
Heat and health experts say careful, gradual exposure to heat can trigger healthy adaptations that help the body better tolerate hot days. “There is data to suggest it improves overall circulation, enhances the immune system and cardiovascular health,” says Jason Kai Wei Lee, director of the Heat Tolerance and Performance Center at the National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Medicine.
Li said heat acclimation research is mainly focused on athletes, military personnel and outdoor workers. Most people probably wouldn’t be able to last as long in hot weather as these people did, he said. But the same principles apply. Gradually increasing the dose in the summer heat, with breaks to cool down, can help acclimate to the environment.
Lee said it’s difficult to come up with a one-size-fits-all solution because a person’s heat tolerance depends on factors such as age, baseline aerobic fitness and a healthy immune system.
Sweating more is key
A person’s susceptibility to overheating can vary from day to day, depending on factors such as poor sleep, fatigue and illness, said O’Connor of the Uniformed Services University.
“When I evaluate soldiers with heatstroke, anecdotally, the vast majority of them have underlying infections,” he said. “Colds, gastroenteritis, sinus infections, periodontal disease, blisters — these all automatically raise your body temperature,” he says. So, coupled with hot ambient temperatures or heat stress, it’s even more likely that someone will be in a hyperthermia state. .
Your risk of overheating also depends on what you want to do on a hot day—walking with friends or engaging in long, fast exercise—as well as external factors, such as what the temperature is and whether they can reliably go somewhere cool down.
Since the body relies on evaporation of sweat to cool down, a person’s pre-hydration level, the clothes they are wearing, and how wet they are are important.
But the bottom line is that you can’t improve tolerance without putting in the effort. “You have to keep building up, but at least, you have to get out there and sweat,” O’Connor said. “If you don’t induce any sweating, then the stress isn’t enough to induce physiological adaptations.”
Take it easy
Professor Lee from the National University of Singapore recommends doing it slowly and easily, with long breaks in between. “The broad five strategies we advocate are aerobic conditioning, heat acclimation, work-rest cycling, cooling and hydration — in that order,” he says.
Lee said it’s best to acclimate before the hottest days. One suggestion, he says, is: “Gradually exercise every other day in the heat. On Monday, walk for 15 minutes, rest on Tuesday, walk 30 minutes on Wednesday, rest on Thursday – you get the idea.”
After several weeks of regular heat exposure, the body begins to adapt to more effective cooling. “What’s very obvious is the increase in your ability to sweat,” Li said. As sweat evaporates, the body cools down.
Circulation improves and blood volume increases so the heart doesn’t have to work hard to pump blood throughout the body.
Gradual exposure to heat will also help people understand how their bodies respond to heat, Li said, drinking water when thirsty and slowing down when hot, all of which can help lower core temperature.
Always watch for signs of overheating
Research shows that it takes a few weeks to adjust to exercising in the heat, and it may only take a week or so to get out of the heat.
So while heat training may be helpful for some people, it’s not a panacea for the extreme, sudden heat spikes that are becoming more common as climate changes.
Rather, it’s part of a larger strategy for how to safely cope with hot weather. “During the hot season, stay cool, stay informed, stay hydrated and smart, and stay connected by checking in on your friends, family and neighbors throughout the hot season,” Arizona’s Livar said.
If you are out in hot weather, keep an eye out for signs of heat stroke in yourself or those around you. “If you’re feeling excessive headaches, excessive fatigue — that’s really the time to tell yourself that you have to step back, calm down, slow down,” O’Connor says.
And pay close attention to signs of cognitive changes that may indicate heat stroke.
“If you’re out with friends and you notice that they’re not very talkative, maybe have a staggering gait, look confused, have a personality change – that’s concerning,” he said.
