EFFECT OF REPEATED EXPOSURE TO CONTRASTING TEMPERATURES ON THE BODY OF WORKING AGE MENWITH DIFFERENT TYPES OF AUTONOMIC REGULATION
The aim of this paper was to study changes in the haemodynamic and psychophysiological parameters of working age men as a result of repeated exposure to contrasting temperatures, depending on the type of autonomic regulation. Materials and methods. The research involved 14 men (aged34.77 ± 5.66 years; office workers) divided into two groups according to Kérdö index: those with the sympathetic ( n = 8) and parasympathetic ( n = 6) types of self-regulation. Cold conditioning followed a certain plan of exposure to contrasting temperatures. The haemodynamic and psychophysiological parameters as well as adaptive potential were assessed 20 minutes before and 20 minutes after the exposure (alternating temperature cycles). We examined the following parameters: heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, pulse and mean arterial pressure, stroke volume, cardiac output, vascular resistance, and adaptive potential according to Baevsky. Integral psychophysiological parameters were determined using the Lüscher express method. Results. Subjects with predominance of sympathetic regulation both before and after the exposure to contrasting temperatures had higher values of heart rate and cardiac output and lower vascular resistance than the parasympathicotonic group. Individuals with predominance of parasympathetic regulation showed decreased cardiac output and a significant increase in vascular resistance after the exposure compared with the initial data. We found statistically significant differences in the integral parameters “heteronomy/autonomy” and “balance of personal traits” between the groups under study before the conditioning procedures. The research indicates that repeated exposure to contrasting temperatures not only affects the haemodynamic parameters, but also changes the psychophysiological parameters, motivated behaviour in particular.