Abstract
Historically, thermal comfort research has relied on subjective questionnaires to infer the human physiological response to changing thermal environments, leading to potential bias in results and subsequent interpretations. In this study, we investigate the effect of a moderately warm environment on salivary cortisol concentration, as a potential bio-marker for thermal comfort research. Twelve participants (six men and six women) performed different neurobehavioral tests at neutral and warm thermal environments (operative temperature equal to 23°C and 30°C respectively), followed by a neutral recovery phase. During the experiment participants were assessed physiologically and psychologically. Salivary cortisol concentration did not change between the neutral and warm phase, however it increased as thermal dissatisfaction (measured with both the thermal sensation vote (TSV) and the thermal preference vote (TPV)) increased. This suggests that cortisol concentration in saliva could be used as a bio-marker of stress in thermal comfort research.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | Healthy Buildings Europe 2017 |
| Publisher | International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate |
| Pages | 834-839 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9788379472604, 9781510882799 |
| Publication status | Published - 2017 |
| Externally published | Yes |
| Event | Healthy Buildings Europe 2017 - Lublin, Poland Duration: 2 Jul 2017 → 5 Jul 2017 |
Publication series
| Name | Healthy Buildings Europe 2017 |
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Conference
| Conference | Healthy Buildings Europe 2017 |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | HB 2017 |
| Country/Territory | Poland |
| City | Lublin |
| Period | 2/07/17 → 5/07/17 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© Healthy Buildings Europe 2017. All rights reserved.
Keywords
- Laboratory experiment
- Salivary cortisol
- Thermal comfort
- Thermal stress
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Civil and Structural Engineering