PART 2. Yesterday, we did the second of our three trials for our lab experiment, looking at exercise and cold exposure effect on cortisol. Wheras on Monday, we did the exercise-only trial, yesterday we did the cold-exposure only trial. This time, I sat in a chair for 30 minutes with my feet and legs immersed in water that was 10 degrees Celsius (about 50 degrees Fahrenheit). Let me tell you, that is FREAKIN' COLD!!! I felt a couple different sensations, all simultaneous, and all for the entire 30 minutes. It was fairly painful, but mostly just on the tops of my feet and my toes; like someone was shoving pieces of wood underneath my toenails. Also, I felt sort of a constrictive feeling, like I had rubber bands around my legs and feet. The coolest thing that happened was that my heart rate skyrocketed right when I stuck my feet and legs in the water, but it slowed back down after a couple minutes. Walking was a bit difficult after I got out of the water, kind of like when you try to walk in your normal shoes after you've been ice skating for a long time, but much more pronounced. Lastly, it took a good hour-plus before my feet and legs warmed back up completely.
Tomorrow is the 3rd session, where we put exercise and cold exposure together. So I'll be using the arm crank ergometer while putting my feet and legs in the cold water bath. Should be eventful!
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Glad to hear you survived your polar experience. Hopefully Ben made you some hot tea the whole day. The whole thing still sounds like torture to me.
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