Latest news with #bodytemperature
The Independent
3 days ago
- The Independent
I tried this wearable air conditioner during a heatwave – it was a total saviour
The reon pocket pro works similarly to its predecessor: it sits in the base of your neck and uses thermoelectric cooling or heating to regulate your body temperature. Instead of blowing cold air or pumping heat, the plate gets cold or warm on contact with your skin. The idea is that by cooling or heating your upper spine – where blood flows close to the surface – the device helps your whole body feel more comfortable. It kind of feels like an ice pack moulded against your skin, or a warm compress. What sets the pro apart is the upgraded hardware. It's larger than the pocket 5 and has a new curved design with a better fit. It's still light at 194g, but the extra surface area means more of your skin stays in contact with the cooling plate to improve heat transfer. There are now two heating and cooling modules – what Sony calls 'dual thermo modules' – inside instead of one, which effectively doubles the surface area and makes the temperature changes more noticeable. Rather than simply running both at once, the modules alternate with varying intensity to maintain more consistent cooling over time. Interestingly, Sony says that the newly developed fan delivers roughly twice the airflow of the reon pocket 5, helping to dissipate heat more effectively while keeping noise levels low. The pro ships with a single adjustable neckband that bends to fit the contour of your neck, making it more comfortable and secure than before. Sony says it's added a flexible silicone extension at the tips and a thicker tube around the wire frame to improve comfort and support during longer wear. You also get two airflow covers in the box. There's a shorter one for T-shirts and a longer one for collared shirts to help direct heat and airflow, depending on what you're wearing. While there's no official IP rating, the device is splash-resistant, with a rubber cap covering the USB-C charging port. You can control it manually via the device itself or use the reon app. Both let you switch between cooling and warming modes, as well as choose your preferred intensity. But the pro also supports a smart auto mode that reacts to your body and environment. It comes bundled with the reon Ttg, a small wearable sensor that clips onto your shirt, feeding environmental data back to the app. Together, the system can adjust the temperature depending on the degrees outside, the humidity, and whether you're indoors or out. It even knows when you're wearing it, automatically switching on or off when it detects contact with your neck, like how wireless earbuds pause when you take them out of your ears. Sony's also tweaked the smart cool mode to react more smoothly to changes in temperature and humidity, so it feels less like a setting and more like something that's just quietly working in the background. Sony claims the pro can last up to 15 hours on smart mode and up to 34 hours at the first level of the cooling setting. In my limited time with the device so far, with use over a couple of days, the cooling kicks in fast within a few seconds of turning it on. The plate started to chill my upper back almost immediately, giving some cool relief to my body. The fan is quiet – Sony says it's 50 per cent quieter than the pocket 5. It was barely audible even in a silent room, and the curved design makes it feel more stable and natural than I expected. It's also surprisingly discreet. It sits flush under a shirt or T-shirt and stays put thanks to the malleable neckband that's included in the box. I pulled it out in the pictures just so you can easily see it, but it can be tucked under your shirt so it's not seen. It's not going to cool your whole body like a proper air conditioner, but for targeted comfort while commuting, working, or even just sitting around at home, it makes a noticeable difference, and is way more effective than a fan that just blows hot air at my face. This one actually cooled my body. I've got the new reon pocket pro to hand right now, and I'll be taking it on the sweaty Jubilee Line to continue to test its effectiveness. Will it be better than one of those dorky wearable neck fans? My full review is coming soon.
CBC
30-07-2025
- Health
- CBC
Using a fan to keep cool? Here's when it can do more harm than good
A new, multi-year study by Canadian and Australian researchers found that if conditions are hot and sticky, the temperature needs to be more than 38 C for fans to raise your body temperature faster.
The Independent
11-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Why are women affected more by heatwaves? A doctor explains
Women are more affected by heatwaves due to differences in body fat, hormones, and how they regulate heat, a doctor has explained. Doctor Amir Khan told Lorraine on Friday (11 July) that when the hormone progesterone rises, it can increase women's core body temperature by up to 1°F. 'For women, that's the second half of their menstrual cycle, that's where progesterone is at its highest,' he said. He explained that women also don't sweat as much as men, as they rely on other cooling mechanisms to lower body temperature, such as bringing blood to the surface of the skin. 'Which are slower and less effective than sweat evaporating off your skin,' Dr Khan added. He said women also tend to have higher body fat percentages than men, making it harder for heat to escape.
The Independent
30-06-2025
- The Independent
Forget a fan, I tried a wearable air conditioner and it's a heatwave hero
The reon pocket pro works similarly to its predecessor: it sits in the base of your neck and uses thermoelectric cooling or heating to regulate your body temperature. Instead of blowing cold air or pumping heat, the plate gets cold or warm on contact with your skin. The idea is that by cooling or heating your upper spine – where blood flows close to the surface – the device helps your whole body feel more comfortable. It kind of feels like an ice pack moulded against your skin, or a warm compress. What sets the pro apart is the upgraded hardware. It's larger than the pocket 5 and has a new curved design with a better fit. It's still light at 194g, but the extra surface area means more of your skin stays in contact with the cooling plate to improve heat transfer. There are now two heating and cooling modules – what Sony calls 'dual thermo modules' – inside instead of one, which effectively doubles the surface area and makes the temperature changes more noticeable. Rather than simply running both at once, the modules alternate with varying intensity to maintain more consistent cooling over time. Interestingly, Sony says that the newly developed fan delivers roughly twice the airflow of the reon pocket 5, helping to dissipate heat more effectively while keeping noise levels low. The pro ships with a single adjustable neckband that bends to fit the contour of your neck, making it more comfortable and secure than before. Sony says it's added a flexible silicone extension at the tips and a thicker tube around the wire frame to improve comfort and support during longer wear. You also get two airflow covers in the box. There's a shorter one for T-shirts and a longer one for collared shirts to help direct heat and airflow, depending on what you're wearing. While there's no official IP rating, the device is splash-resistant, with a rubber cap covering the USB-C charging port. You can control it manually via the device itself or use the reon app. Both let you switch between cooling and warming modes, as well as choose your preferred intensity. But the pro also supports a smart auto mode that reacts to your body and environment. It comes bundled with the reon Ttg, a small wearable sensor that clips onto your shirt, feeding environmental data back to the app. Together, the system can adjust the temperature depending on the degrees outside, the humidity, and whether you're indoors or out. It even knows when you're wearing it, automatically switching on or off when it detects contact with your neck, like how wireless earbuds pause when you take them out of your ears. Sony's also tweaked the smart cool mode to react more smoothly to changes in temperature and humidity, so it feels less like a setting and more like something that's just quietly working in the background. Sony claims the pro can last up to 15 hours on smart mode and up to 34 hours at the first level of the cooling setting. In my limited time with the device so far, with use over a couple of days, the cooling kicks in fast within a few seconds of turning it on. The plate started to chill my upper back almost immediately, giving some cool relief to my body. The fan is quiet – Sony says it's 50 per cent quieter than the pocket 5. It was barely audible even in a silent room, and the curved design makes it feel more stable and natural than I expected. It's also surprisingly discreet. It sits flush under a shirt or T-shirt and stays put thanks to the malleable neckband that's included in the box. I pulled it out in the pictures just so you can easily see it, but it can be tucked under your shirt so it's not seen. It's not going to cool your whole body like a proper air conditioner, but for targeted comfort while commuting, working, or even just sitting around at home, it makes a noticeable difference, and is way more effective than a fan that just blew hot air at my face. This one actually cooled my body. I've got the new reon pocket pro to hand right now, and I'll be taking it on the sweaty Jubilee Line to test its effectiveness. Will it be better than one of those dorky wearable neck fans? My full review is coming soon.
Daily Mail
25-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Expert reveals why cold showers on hot days could kill you
The first big heat wave of the summer has sent millions in the US looking for a way to cool down, but one expert says taking a cold shower could be a fatal mistake. A massive heat dome has trapped hot and humid air over more than half the US for days, sending June temperatures into triple-digits for the first time in decades for several major cities. Professor Adam Taylor from Lancaster University explained how trying to cool your body down by jumping into very cold water actually has the opposite effect. Instead of getting your body to release excess heat, suddenly shocking the body with a cold shower tricks the human body into thinking it should keep the heat trapped inside. According to Taylor, this can be deadly for people with high blood pressure and heart conditions. Moreover, there's a risk of organ damage when the body stays too hot for too long. While these events tend to be rare, there's an extremely common problem that washing in cold water can exacerbate - body odor and unclean skin. So, while a plunge into cold water may feel like relief in a heat wave, it might actually not be helping the human body at all. Our body's optimal temperature is around 98.6°F. This temperatures ensures our body systems can function properly. When the core gets too hot, the temperature regulating center of the brain starts sending nervous signals out to the blood vessels and muscles in or near the skin – telling them to start activating their cooling mechanisms. If our core stays at high temperature for too long (around 102.2-104°F), this can lead to organ damage. So to ensure our temperature stays optimal, the body uses multiple techniques to cool itself down. For instance, the body radiates heat into the surrounding environment by electromagnetic (thermal) radiation. Approximately 60 percent of our body heat is lost this way. Sweating is another mechanism the body uses. Around 22 percent of our body heat is lost this way. When the air temperature around us exceeds our body temperature, sweating becomes the dominant mechanism for reducing core temperature. Any remaining body heat is then lost through a mixture of convection into the air or liquid the body may be in contact with and conduction into solid objects that the body may be in contact with. To support these mechanisms, our blood vessels change diameter. The ones closest to the skin dilate (widen) to allow more blood into them so they can get close to the relatively cooler surface of the skin. The body then works to circulate the blood so that heat from inside the body can be moved to the periphery to cool off. Similarly on our skin, the hairs remain flat to allow air next to the body to cool and be replaced, helping to dissipate heat. Cold shower? Of course, when the weather gets really hot outside, these biological mechanisms just don't feel like they cut it. Although diving into a cold bath or shower straight after being out in the heat might feel nice on your skin, it isn't doing what is needed to reduce the core temperature of the body. It might also be risky for some people. When exposed to cold, the blood vessels near to the skin constrict – reducing the blood flow into these areas. So, in the context of cooling the body down, jumping into a cold shower does the opposite of what needs to happen, as less blood is now flowing to the surface of the skin. This will hold the heat in and around your organs instead of getting rid of it. Basically, you're tricking your body that it doesn't need to cool down, but actually needs to conserve heat. Depending on how cold your water is, sudden exposure could even trigger dangerous consequences for some people. Exposure to cold water that is around 59°F can trigger the cold shock response. This causes the blood vessels in the skin (those in contact with the cold water) to constrict rapidly. The shock increases blood pressure as the heart is now pumping against increased resistance. This response can be particularly dangerous in people with underlying heart conditions, such as coronary artery disease. The cold shock response can also lead to an irregular heartbeat and even death when going from very hot to cold. Thankfully, these events are rare – and probably won't happen if you're just taking a cold shower or bath in your home. However, you might want to skip the cold plunge or avoid taking an ice bath on a hot day for this reason. Hot showers are also a bad idea on a warm day. Although it's sometimes said that a hot shower helps the body cool down faster, this unfortunately isn't true. Water that is warmer than the body is going to transfer energy in the form of heat into the body. This again prevents the body getting rid of heat – potentially increasing its core temperature. On a hot day, a tepid or lukewarm bath or shower is the way to go, evidence suggests 78.8-80.6°F is most effective. This helps bring blood to the surface to cool, without being cold enough to cause the body to think it needs to conserve its heat. Another reason to skip a cold shower on a hot day is that it might not help you get clean. When we get hot, we sweat – and this sweat mixes with sebum, another skin product and the bacteria on our skin, which produces body odor. Cold water has been shown to be less effective at removing and breaking down sebum and other debris on the skin, compared to warmer water, which means bad body odor will persist. Cold water also causes the skin to tighten. This might potentially trap sebum and dirt within the pores, leading to blackheads, whiteheads, and acne. However, warm or lukewarm water can help dissolve and loosen material in the pores. As you plan your escape and recovery from the heat this week, a lukewarm or cool shower or bath, rather than a cold shower, is a safer and more effective choice. This will allow your body to dissipate heat away from your core without harm. Equally, if you do feel the need to go cooler, do it gradually so you aren't shocking the body's automatic temperature regulation system into action. Turning the temperature down gradually if you want to go cold, or slowly placing an arm or leg in at a time can help with this process. This article is adapted from The Conversation, a nonprofit news organization dedicated to sharing the knowledge of experts. It was written by Adam Taylor, a professor of anatomy at Lancaster University.
