Sleep environments and sleep physiology: A review.

Sleep loss impairs task performance and post-physical activity recovery, cognitive performance and mood, heightens fatigue and decreases vigour; poor sleep quality impairs decision-making, the speed and accuracy of task performance, and post-exercise recovery. Sleep time and quality are affected by age, psychological and physiological conditions, culture and environmental factors. Skin temperature, rapid temperature change and sweating during sleep can significantly reduce sleep quality. Hence, the thermal properties of bedding and sleepwear, both in steady-state and transient ambient temperature conditions, are logically important factors. Research to date on sleeping thermal microclimates and their effect on sleep quality is scarce. This present review covers the fundamental elements of human sleep, highlighting physically active people, such as athletes, and the influence of sleepwear and bedding on sleep thermal microclimates, as well as the research methods that have been and could be used in this field. This review identifies opportunity for future research direction and approaches to understanding thermal environments that may support better human sleep.

Firefighters' protective jackets: Fit to female form and its effects on attributes relevant to thermal comfort.

Often male and female workers wear protective garments of identical construction and style, with females typically wearing small-sized men's garments. Consequently, the air spaces under garments worn by male and female wearers can substantially differ in size and distribution affecting the physiological comfort of firefighters' protective clothing. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of varying dimensions and distributions of air spaces in the next-to-skin microclimate under firefighters' protective jackets on attributes relevant to the thermal comfort of wearer, not only in relation to garment construction and fit, but also to human body geometry using 3D body scanning. Analysis of 20 scans demonstrated that jackets of the same size and construction create larger air spaces under them worn on a female as opposed to on a male body form. Both thermal and vapor resistance of clothing were affected significantly by the volume of trapped air.

Towards sustainable and safe apparel cleaning methods: A review.

Perchloroethylene (PERC) is a compound commonly used as a solvent in dry cleaning, despite its severe health and environmental impacts. In recent times chemicals such as hydrocarbons, GreenEarth(®), acetal and liquid carbon dioxide have emerged as less damaging substitutes for PERC, and an even more sustainable water-based wet cleaning process has been developed. We employed a systematic review approach to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing research evidence in the area of sustainable and safe apparel cleaning methods and care. Our review describes traditional professional dry cleaning methods, as well as those that utilise solvents other than PERC, and their ecological attributes. In addition, the new professional wet cleaning process is discussed. Finally, we address the health hazards of the various solvents used in dry cleaning and state-of-the-art solvent residue trace analysis techniques.