Close X
Saturday, September 21, 2024
ADVT 
Interesting

Why Elderly People Should NOT Use Electric Fans

Darpan News Desk IANS, 01 Oct, 2016 03:33 PM
    While electric fans keep young adults cooler by increasing the evaporation of sweat, they may, surprisingly, have the opposite effect for those above the age of 60, suggests new research.
     
    The heart rate and internal temperature of seniors exposed to 41.6 degree Celsius temperatures and increasing humidity levels climbed even higher when they tried to cool off with fans - instead of falling as expected, according to study findings reported in the journal JAMA.
     
    "Although differences were small, the cumulative effect could become clinically important during prolonged heat exposure, such as during extreme heat waves," said Craig Crandall, Professor of Internal Medicine at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in the US.
     
    "We know that fans keep young adults cooler by increasing the evaporation of sweat," Crandall said.
     
    "We surmise that age-related impairments in sweating capacity make fans an ineffective means of cooling for the elderly during exceptionally hot days, and may, in fact, increase thermal and cardiac strain," Crandall noted.
     
     
    Researchers studied the physiological responses of a small group of elderly patients in a high-heat, high-humidity environment.
     
    Participants between the ages of 60 and 80 were observed for approximately two hours in a room with the temperature set at a sweltering 41.6 degrees Celsius and a humidity level that was gradually increased from 30 per cent to 70 per cent.
     
    Not surprisingly, both heart rate and internal body temperature rose as the humidity level in the room rose.
     
    The eight individuals in the study were tested under those conditions without a fan and, on a separate occasion, with an electric fan.
     
    Unexpectedly, the participants` heart rates were 10 beats per minute higher and their internal temperatures marginally higher when a fan was part of the experimental environment.
     
    Although these findings suggest that fan use may be counterproductive for seniors during heat waves, the investigators propose that fan use may still be beneficial under less extreme environmental conditions, though this needs to be confirmed.

    MORE Interesting ARTICLES

    New Mexico Mother And Son Fell In Love And Will Go To Jail To Defend Their Relationship

    New Mexico Mother And Son Fell In Love And Will Go To Jail To Defend Their Relationship
    'I never got anything my entire life and she went out of her way to make me happy and after about a week or so I started having feelings for her and I guess I fell in love. - Caleb Peterson

    New Mexico Mother And Son Fell In Love And Will Go To Jail To Defend Their Relationship

    Bilinguals Have An Enhanced Ability To Maintain Attention And Focus

    Bilinguals Have An Enhanced Ability To Maintain Attention And Focus
    Bilinguals have been found to possess cognitive advantages over those who only speak one language, but the nature of the advantage is unclear.

    Bilinguals Have An Enhanced Ability To Maintain Attention And Focus

    Indian-Origin Labour Lawmaker Among 50 Facing Constituency Changes In UK

    Indian-Origin Labour Lawmaker Among 50 Facing Constituency Changes In UK
    69-year-old British-Punjabi Labour party MP, Virendra Sharma, has represented the Ealing Southall area, with a large number of Punjabi origin electorate, for nearly a decade.

    Indian-Origin Labour Lawmaker Among 50 Facing Constituency Changes In UK

    Britain's Youngest Indian Parliamentarian Jitesh Gadhia Takes Rig Veda To The House Of Lords

    Britain's Youngest Indian Parliamentarian Jitesh Gadhia Takes Rig Veda To The House Of Lords
    Britain's newest Indian-origin peer marked his entry to the House of Lords by swearing his oath of allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II on the 'Rig Veda'.

    Britain's Youngest Indian Parliamentarian Jitesh Gadhia Takes Rig Veda To The House Of Lords

    Most Chinese Don't Regret Air China's Racist Advisory, Says State Media

    Most Chinese Don't Regret Air China's Racist Advisory, Says State Media
     'Be Cautious In Areas Populated By Indians, Pakistanis And Black People When Visiting London'

    Most Chinese Don't Regret Air China's Racist Advisory, Says State Media

    World-First Fitness App For Dogs Developed In Australia

    World-First Fitness App For Dogs Developed In Australia
    Doglogbook app will give smartphone users to log the activities of their pet in a usual day like - eating, walking, playing and rate the enjoyment it gets from each activity.

    World-First Fitness App For Dogs Developed In Australia