Greater understanding of how women sweat could lead to better sports bras, according to new research.
The Southampton study is shining new light on women’s body temperature and sweat during different life phases. This includes ovulation, pregnancy, perimenopause and post-menopause.
The findings could improve thermal comfort for female athletes.
State-of-the-art research
The research is taking place at the NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility (CRF). It involves the facility’s state-of-the-art climate chamber at University Hospital Southampton.
Participants will jog for 45 minutes in 32-degree heat and the researchers will measure their sweat output.
Dr Davide Filingeri, Associate Professor in Thermal Physiology at University of Southampton, is leading the research. He is a world-leading expert in human skin temperature and wetness sensing.
“We lack understanding of how responses to heat vary at an individual level according to sex, age and hormones," he explained.
“This knowledge gap makes it difficult to design clothing that meets the thermal needs of women across different life stages. Ultimately, it limits women’s clothing options to maintain an active lifestyle."
He continued: “Our research into how people detect temperature and wetness could help in the design of more comfortable sportswear. For example, manufacturers could make clothes more breathable in certain areas, or warmer in areas that are prone to getting cold."
Improving sports bra design
Postgraduate researcher Hannah Blount is examining how sports bra are designed.
This involves 3D scanning to calculate breast surface area. She is also using iodine-infused paper to measure sweat gland density. The paper reacts with the chemicals in sweat when placed on the skin.
Hannah said: “We have established that breast size may impact sweat gland density – the smaller the surface area, the higher the density of sweat glands.
“This information could be valuable to sports bra design, enabling manufacturers to produce more comfortable garments.”
She added: “We are getting more sedentary as a society. If we can do anything to aid women to become more active and to make sport more accessible, that’s really exciting.”
Recruitment for the research is ongoing. Women who typically wear an XL sports bra (approximate size 38D-E or 40A-C) and can jog for at least 15 minutes may be eligible to take part. Please email Hannah at H.Blount@soton.ac.uk for more information.
Image credit: University of Southampton