Athlete Body Temperature

> Under normal playing conditions a player's skin temperature is 22 Cand his body's core temperature is 37 C. Drop the temperature to: -12 C It is an urban myth that we lose half our body heat through our heads. We actually lose only 10 per cent this way. Wearing a helmet is not going to keep a player warm. Cardiovascular system pumps less blood to the body's extremities. After 30 minutes, his core body temperature is still 37 C. The body achieves this by using up glucose five times faster. After 15 minutes, the skin temperature of his hands has lowered to 2 C. Grip strength has cut in half from 125 psi to 60 psi. Passing completion falls by 2 per cent. Reaction times fall 45 per cent. A reflex that would normally take 0.79 seconds now takes 1.46 seconds. The diameter of the football reduces by 1.3 mm after one hour in this temperature. The air pressure inside it reduces by 20 per cent from 13.5 psi to 11 psi making it less bouncy - meaning it leaves a kicker's foot more slowly. Punts travel on average 2.7 m less. Field goal accuracy drops 1.7 per cent. To combat the cold temperatures some players use Warm Skin cream, which claims to insulate the skin further. Some teams use helmet heaters and sideline heaters to keep players' feet warm while on the benches. NINIAN CARTER/THE GLOBE AND MAIL » SOURCE: ESPN