Skip to main content

Thermoregulatory sex differences among surfers during a simulated surf session

Sports Engineering volume 24, Article number: 16 (2021) Cite this article

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that under controlled surf conditions, sex differences in skin temperature exist, but core temperature would not vary between sexes when performing a simulated surf session while wearing a 2-mm wetsuit. Twenty male and 13 female surfers engaged in a 60-min simulated surf protocol using a custom 2-mm wetsuit in an Endless Pool Elite Flume with water temperature set to 15.6 °C. Participants were instrumented with a heart rate monitor, eight skin temperature sensors, and a disposable sensor for measurement of core temperature. The surf simulation consisted of paddling, duck-diving and stationary activities at three paddling speeds (1.2, 1.4 and 1.6 m/s). Participants were asked their thermal sensation periodically during the protocol, and all data were collected at 1-min intervals. Results indicated no significant differences in core temperature between males (37.31 ± 0.35 °C) and females (37.32 ± 0.48 °C, p = 0.995). Upper arm and thigh skin temperatures were significantly lower in females (27.45 ± 1.04 °C and 23.53 ± 0.78 °C, respectively) than males (28.61 ± 1.32 °C and 24.73 ± 0.68 °C; p = 0.012 and p = 0.000, respectively). Conversely, skin temperatures in the abdomen were significantly lower in males (26.57 ± 1.44 °C) than females (27.75 ± 1.50 °C; p = 0.035). Meanwhile, perceptual data were inconclusive. The results suggest that although regional differences in skin temperature may exist between male and female surfers, they may be too small to translate into perceptual differences and are unnecessary when considering wetsuit design.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Availability of data and material

Not applicable.

Code availability

Not applicable.

References

  1. Moran K, Webber J (2013) Surfing injuries requiring first aid in New Zealand, 2007–2012. Int J Aquat Res Educ 7:192–203

    Google Scholar 

  2. Nimmo M (2004) Exercise in the cold. J Sports Sci 22(10):898–916. https://doi.org/10.1080/0264041400005883

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Naebe M, Robins N, Wang X, Collins P (2013) Assessment of performance properties of wetsuits. Proc Inst Mech Eng Part P J Sports Eng Technol 227(4):255–264. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754337113481967

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Pandolf K, Sawka M (1988) Human performance physiology and environmental medicine at terrestrial extremes. Cooper Publishing Group, Richard

    Google Scholar 

  5. Bravo M, Cummins M, Nessler A, Newcomer C (2016) Heart rate responses of high school students participating in surfing physical education. J Strength Cond Res 30(6):1721–1726. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Farley RL, Harris K, Kilding E (2012) Physiological demands of competitive surfing. J Strength Cond Res 26(7):1887–1896. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3182392c4b

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Farley RL, Secomb L, Raymond R, Lundgren E, Ferrier K, Abbiss R, Sheppard M (2018) Workloads of competitive surfing: work-to-relief ratios, surf-break demands, and updated analysis. J Strength Cond Res 32(10):2939–2948. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000002659

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Meir RA, Lowdon BJ, Davie AJ (1991) Heart rates and estimated energy expenditure during recreational surfing. Aust J Sci Med Sport 23:70–74

    Google Scholar 

  9. Mendez-Villanueva A, Bishop D (2005) Physiological aspects of surfboard riding performance. Sports Med 35(1):55–70. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200535010-00005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Mendez-Villanueva A, Bishop D, Hamer P (2006) Activity profile of world-class professional surfers during competition: a case study. J Strength Cond Res 20(3):477–482. https://doi.org/10.1519/16574

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Secomb JL, Sheppard JM, Dascombe BJ (2015) Time-motion analysis of a 2-hour surfing training session. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 10(1):17–22. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2014-0002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Prisby RD, Glickman-Weiss EL, Caine N (2000) Thermal sensation and substrate utilization differs among low- and high-fat women exposed to 17 °C water. Wilderness Environ Med 11(3):157–162. https://doi.org/10.1580/1080-6032(2000)011[0157:TSASUD]2.3.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Wakabayashi H, Hanai A, Yokoyama S, Nomura T (2006) Thermal insulation and body temperature wearing a thermal swimsuit during water immersion. J Physiol Anthropol 25(5):331–338. https://doi.org/10.2114/jpa2.25.331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Wakabayashi H, Kaneda K, Sato D, Tochihara Y, Nomura T (2008) Effect of non-uniform skin temperature on thermoregulatory response during water immersion. Eur J Appl Physiol 104(2):175–181. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-008-0714-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Corona LJ, Simmons GH, Nessler JA, Newcomer SC (2018) Characterisation of regional skin temperatures in recreational surfers wearing a 2-Mm wetsuit. Ergonomics 61(5):729–735. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2017.1387291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Bergh U, Ekblom B (1979) Influence of muscle temperature on maximal muscle strength and power output in human skeletal muscles. Acta Physiol Scand 107(1):33–37. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-1716.1979.tb06439.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Oksa J, Rintamäki H, Rissanen S (1997) Muscle performance and electromyogram activity of the lower leg muscles with different levels of cold exposure. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol 75(6):484–490. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004210050193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Sargeant AJ (1987) Effect of muscle temperature on leg extension force and short-term power output in humans. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol 56(6):693–698. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00424812

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Warner ME, Nessler JA, Newcomer SC (2019) Skin temperatures in females wearing a 2 Mm wetsuit during surfing. Sports 7(6):145. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports7060145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Bollinger A, Schlumpf M (1976) Finger blood flow in healthy subjects of different age and sex and in patients with primary Raynaud’s disease. Acta Chir Scand Suppl 465:42–47 ((PMID: 1069432))

    Google Scholar 

  21. Charkoudian N (2003) Skin blood flow in adult human thermoregulation: how it works, when it does not, and why. Mayo Clin Proc 78(5):603–612. https://doi.org/10.4065/78.5.603

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Graham TE (1988) Thermal, metabolic, and cardiovascular changes in men and women during cold stress. Med Sci Sports Exerc 20(5 Suppl):S185–S192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Keatinge WR (1960) The effects of subcutaneous fat and of previous exposure to cold on the body temperature, peripheral blood flow and metabolic rate of men in cold water. J Physiol 153(1):166–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Salamunes ACC, Stadnik AMW, Neves EB (2017) The effect of body fat percentage and body fat distribution on skin surface temperature with infrared thermography. J Therm Biol 66:1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2017.03.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Tukey JW (1977) Exploratory data analysis. Addison-Wesely, Boston

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  26. Leeworthy VR, Wiley PC (2001) Current participation patterns in marine recreation.  U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service, Special Projects, pp 20–21

  27. Esco MR, Snarr RL, Leatherwood MD et al (2015) Comparison of total and segmental body composition using DXA and multifrequency bioimpedance in collegiate female athletes. J Strength Cond Res 29:918–925

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Schubert MM, Seay RF, Spain KK, Clarke HE, Taylor JK (2019) Relaiability and vailidity of various laboratory methods of body composition assessment in young adults. Clin Physiol Funct Imaging 39(2):150–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Raccuglia M, Heyde C, Lloyd A, Ruiz D, Hodder S, Havenith G (2018) Anchoring biases affect repeated scores of thermal, moisture, tactile and comfort sensations in transient conditions. Int J Biometeorol 62(11):1945–1954. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-018-1595-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Benjamini Y, Hochberg Y (1995) Controlling the false discovery rate: a practical and powerful approach to multiple testing. J R Stat Soc Ser B (Methodol) 57(1):289–300. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2517-6161.1995.tb02031.x

    MathSciNet  Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  31. Chudecka M, Lubkowska A (2015) Thermal maps of young women and men. Infrared Phys Technol 69:81–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infrared.2015.01.012

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Marins JCB, Formenti D, Costa CMA, Alex de Andrade A, Sillero-Quintana M (2015) Circadian and gender differences in skin temperature in militaries by thermography. Infrared Phys Technol 71:322–328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infrared.2015.05.008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. McArdle WD, Magel JR, Gergley TJ, Spina RJ, Toner MM (1984) Thermal adjustment to cold-water exposure in resting men and women. J Appl Physiol 56(6):1565–1571. https://doi.org/10.1152/jappl.1984.56.6.1565

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. John BM, Joshua R, Oliver R, Mark D, John O (2016) Anthropometric and performance perspectives of female competitive surfing. Hum Mov 17(3):154–161. https://doi.org/10.1515/humo-2016-0023

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Buskirk ER, Thompson RH, Donald Whedon G (1963) Metabolic response to cold air in men and women in relation to total body fat content. J Appl Physiol 18(3):603–612. https://doi.org/10.1152/jappl.1963.18.3.603

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Neves EB, Moreira TR, Lemos RJ, Vilaça-Alves J, Rosa C, Reis VM, Neves EB et al (2015) The influence of subcutaneous fat in the skin temperature variation rate during exercise. Res Biomed Eng 31(4):307–312. https://doi.org/10.1590/2446-4740.0805

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Parsons KC (2002) The effects of gender, acclimation state, the opportunity to adjust clothing and physical disability on requirements for thermal comfort. Energy Build Spec Issue Therm Comf Stand 34(6):593–599. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-7788(02)00009-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Choo J, Stevens C, Kenneth K (1998) Temperature sensitivity of the body surface over the life span. Somatosens Motor Res 15(1):13–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/08990229870925

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Kinesiology 326 undergraduate students for their help in data collection on this project.

Funding

Not applicable.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Kinesiology, California State University San Marcos, 333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Rd., San Marcos, CA, 92096, USA

    Natalie P. Skillern, Jeff A. Nessler, Matthew M. Schubert, Bruce Moore & Sean C. Newcomer

Authors
  1. Natalie P. Skillern
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jeff A. Nessler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Matthew M. Schubert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Bruce Moore
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Sean C. Newcomer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Natalie P. Skillern or Sean C. Newcomer.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

Not applicable.

Ethical approval

All procedures were approved by the Institutional Review Board at California State University, San Marcos (#1302166).

Consent to participate

All prospective participants provided their informed consent before participation.

Consent for publication

All authors have approved the submission of this manuscript.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This article is a part of Topical Collection in Sports Engineering on Surf Engineering, Edited by Prof. Marc in het Panhuis, Prof. Luca Oggiano, Dr. David Shormann and Mr. Jimmy Freese.

Supplementary Information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Skillern, N.P., Nessler, J.A., Schubert, M.M. et al. Thermoregulatory sex differences among surfers during a simulated surf session. Sports Eng 24, 16 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12283-021-00353-2

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12283-021-00353-2

Keywords

  • Skin temperature
  • Action sports
  • Thermoregulation