Acclimatisation

Acclimatisation is any of the numerous gradual, long-term responses of an organism to environmental changes. Such reactions are more or less habitual and reversible if environmental conditions revert to a previous state. Acclimatisation does not occur when there are numerous abrupt changes that elicit rapid and short-term responses via the nervous and hormonal systems. An individual organism can rapidly regulate its internal processes in order to sustain itself within the normal range of environmental changes that it encounters on hourly or daily routines. However, this rapid regulation, or homeostasis, is limited to a narrow range of environmental variations. Large environmental changes, such as those that would allow a plant or animal that lives in the heat of summer to function in the cold of winter, are typically ineffective for homeostatic regulation. As summer draws to a close, organisms alter their composition and habits in apparent anticipation of the impending winter. Acclimatisation is the gradual adaptation to changing conditions.

Acclimatisation

Acclimatisation refers to the advantageous physiological adaptations that occur as a result of repeated exposure to a hot environment.

• Increased sweating efficiency is one of these physiological adaptations (earlier onset of sweating, greater sweat production, and reduced electrolyte loss in sweat).
• Circulation is being stabilised.
• The ability to perform work while maintaining a low core temperature and heart rate.
• At a given core temperature, increased skin blood flow.

Workers should be gradually exposed to hot environmental conditions over a 7-14 day period to acclimate. Workers who have already had some exposure will require more time to acclimate than new workers.

Acclimatisation schedule

• For new employees, the schedule should include no more than a 20% exposure on day one and an increase of no more than 20% on each subsequent day.
• For workers who have previous job experience, the acclimatisation regimen should consist of no more than 50% exposure on day one, 60% on day two, 80% on day three, and 100% on every four.

Furthermore, the level of acclimatisation attained by each worker is proportional to his or her initial level of physical fitness and the total heat stress experienced by the individual.

Maintaining acclimatisation

Workers can keep their acclimatisation even if they are absent from work for a few days, such as when they go home for the weekend. However, if they are absent for a week or more, there may be a significant loss in the beneficial adaptations, increasing the risk of heat-related illness and necessitating gradual acclimatisation to the hot environment.

Here’s some more information on how to keep your acclimatisation going:

• When returning to a hot job, it is frequently regained in 2 to 3 days.
• Those who are physically fit appear to be better at maintaining it.
• Temperature swings from season to season can cause problems.
• Working in hot, humid environments provides adaptive benefits that are transferable to hot, desert environments, and vice versa.
• Acclimatisation will not be hampered by air conditioning.

Factors affecting climate acclimatisation

Your physical condition, age, and other factors all have an impact on how your body reacts to heat and cold.

Body fat

Obese people can tolerate heat better than lean people. The greater a person’s obesity, the less skin surface area he or she has in comparison to his or her weight. A larger surface area exposes more skin, allowing it to perspire and cool the body through evaporation.

This same fat, however, can be beneficial to people who live in cold climates because it insulates skin tissue. People who live in colder climates, such as the Inuit, have more body fat than those who live in warmer climates.

Age

Temperature extremes are usually not tolerated as well by the elderly as they are by the younger. The body’s response to temperature change–shivering in cold temperatures and sweating in hot temperatures–delays and diminishes as a person ages.

Medications

Because they affect parts of the brain responsible for temperature regulation, some medications may impair the body’s ability to tolerate temperature extremes. Some asthma and hay fever medications, for example, can reduce your tolerance to heat or cold.

Metabolic rate

The metabolic rate of a person–the rate at which the body’s cells convert food into energy–influences the person’s ability to cope with heat and cold. A higher metabolic rate generates more heat than a lower metabolic rate. As a result, a person with a high metabolic rate may feel warm in a 72-degree room, whereas someone with a low rate may feel cool.

Difference in Acclimatisation and Adaptation

From a biological standpoint, acclimatisation is limited by individuals’ genomes, where this same statement cannot be true or correct for the process occurring over multiple generations, facilitating the recombination of genetic traits that improves the chances of survival in a newly formed environment.

Consider the following example to gain a better understanding: Tomatoes thrive in temperate climates. In that case, they can also survive in sub-zero temperatures if the temperature drops gradually rather than abruptly. So, in such a harsh climate, the tomato exhibits a short time adjustment.

Let us look at another example: Only a few plants found in desert areas bloom at night. Plants make this adaptation to ensure that they do not dehydrate in the extreme desert heat. Aside from this desert, plants have a waxy coating on their leaves that aids in dehydration.

Acclimatisation in Humans

1.High Altitudes: 

We see acclimatisation when we travel to higher altitude locations, and it is regarded as one of the best examples of the acclimatisation process in humans. For instance, if a person rides to 3,000 metres above sea level and stays there for at least a week, the individual becomes acclimated to 3,000 metres. Furthermore, if that person rides 1000 metres higher, they will need to acclimate to 4000 metres of altitude.

Some of the common changes that the body goes through when it acclimates to high altitude:

1. Red blood cell synthesis has increased.
2. Causes an increase in pulmonary artery pressure, forcing blood into areas of the lungs that are normally not used during normal breathing at lower altitudes.
3. It causes an increase in respiratory depth.
4. During the inhalation process, it increases the depth (volume) of the breath.
5. Other humans, on the other hand, may experience acute mountain sickness when they are above 3000 metres above sea level. In normal circumstances, there may be very common and mild conditions that can be overcome if the body is given enough time to acclimate. The main cause of all of this is decreased air pressure at high altitudes, as well as lower oxygen levels. In severe cases, it causes severe internal organ dysfunction. It is High Altitude Cerebral Edema, in which fluid accumulates in the brain, and it is a completely life-threatening condition that necessitates immediate medical attendance.

2. Deep Diving:

When deep-sea divers ascend from a certain depth, they, too, go through the acclimatisation process. Another process that occurs behind them in this type of acclimatisation is known as decompression. The dissolved inert gases are eliminated from the diver’s body in this case by pausing at several points during the ascent to the water’s surface. In that case, descending drivers cause an increase in hydrostatic pressure as well as ambient pressure. As a result, the breathing gas used during the dive is supplied at atmospheric pressure. The gases begin to dissolve in the diver’s body during this process. When the body is depressurized, the dissolved gases begin to form bubbles, causing excruciating pain. In severe cases, it can result in coma or even death.

Conclusion

Acclimatisation is any of the numerous gradual, long-term responses of an organism to environmental changes. Such reactions are more or less habitual and reversible if environmental conditions revert to a previous state. Acclimatisation refers to the advantageous physiological adaptations that occur as a result of repeated exposure to a hot environment. For new employees, the schedule should include no more than a 20% exposure on day one and an increase of no more than 20% on each subsequent day. Workers can keep their acclimatisation even if they are absent from work for a few days, such as when they go home for the weekend. Obese people can tolerate heat better than lean people. The greater a person’s obesity, the less skin surface area he or she has in comparison to his or her weight. Because they affect parts of the brain responsible for temperature regulation, some medications may impair the body’s ability to tolerate temperature extremes. The metabolic rate of a person–the rate at which the body’s cells convert food into energy–influences the person’s ability to cope with heat and cold.