ArticleTemperature (Austin, Tex.)
Beyond the classic thermoneutral zone: Including thermal comfort.
Article in Temperature (Austin, Tex.). The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 77 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
77 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 193 citations in OpenAlex.
- Carbohydrate supplementation for endurance exercise in the heat: a systematic review with practical recommendations.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Under Control? Mouse Models of Heat Exposure: A Systematic Review of Experimental Design and Methodology.Acta physiologica (Oxford, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Trial
- Effects of Indoor Thermal Environment on Human Food Intake, Productivity, and Comfort: Pilot, Randomized, Crossover Trial.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2018Trial
- Fasting and glucose induced thermogenesis in response to three ambient temperatures: a randomized crossover trial in the metabolic syndrome.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2018Trial
- Evaluation of wearable light dosimeters for circadian lighting: spectral, spatial, photometric, melanopic, and thermal performance.Npj biological timing and sleep · 2026Article
- Chrono-physiological management protocol in form of simultaneous shifting of lighting-cycle and feeding-time can enhance production performance of heat-stressed goat kids.Journal of animal science and technology · 2025Article
- Main Husbandry Practices and Health Conditions That Affect Welfare in Calves: A Narrative Review.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Review
- Validating new limits for human thermoregulation.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Humans exercising in the heat: A review on sweat models and a comparison to recent experimental datasets.Temperature (Austin, Tex.) · 2025Article
- Physiological adaptation strategies for thermoregulation inFrontiers in physiology · 2025Article
- A Review of the Etiologies and Key Clinical Features of Secondary Hyperhidrosis.American journal of clinical dermatology · 2025Review
- Impact of short-term housing temperature alteration on metabolic parameters and adipose tissue in female mice.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Article
- Effects of menopause on temperature regulation.Temperature (Austin, Tex.) · 2025Review
- Evolutionary shifts in the thermal biology of a subterranean mammal: the effect of habitat aridity.The Journal of experimental biology · 2024Article
- Heat source recognition sensor mimicking the thermosensation function of human skin.Innovation (Cambridge (Mass.)) · 2024Article
- TRPV1 Activation Antagonizes High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity at Thermoneutrality and Enhances UCP-1 Transcription via PRDM-16.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Neural cell-types and circuits linking thermoregulation and social behavior.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2024Review
- Strategies in surface engineering for the regulation of microclimates in skin-medical product interactions.Heliyon · 2024Review
- Temperature Differences Between Controlled Primary Hypothyroidism and Healthy Patients: An Exploratory Study.Journal of the Endocrine Society · 2024Article
17 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The thermoneutral zone is defined as the range of ambient temperatures where the body can maintain its core temperature solely through regulating dry heat loss, i.e., skin blood flow. A living body can only maintain its core temperature when heat production and heat loss are balanced. That means that heat transport from body core to skin must equal heat transport from skin to the environment. This study focuses on what combinations of core and skin temperature satisfy the biophysical requirements of being in the thermoneutral zone for humans. Moreover, consequences are considered of changes in insulation and adding restrictions such as thermal comfort (i.e. driver for thermal behavior). A biophysical model was developed that calculates heat transport within a body, taking into account metabolic heat production, tissue insulation, and heat distribution by blood flow and equates that to heat loss to the environment, considering skin temperature, ambient temperature and other physical parameters. The biophysical analysis shows that the steady-state ambient temperature range associated with the thermoneutral zone does not guarantee that the body is in thermal balance at basal metabolic rate per se. Instead, depending on the combination of core temperature, mean skin temperature and ambient temperature, the body may require significant increases in heat production or heat loss to maintain stable core temperature. Therefore, the definition of the thermoneutral zone might need to be reformulated. Furthermore, after adding restrictions on skin temperature for thermal comfort, the ambient temperature range associated with thermal comfort is smaller than the thermoneutral zone. This, assuming animals seek thermal comfort, suggests that thermal behavior may be initiated already before the boundaries of the thermoneutral zone are reached.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.