title: Influence of wet suit wear on anxiety responses to underwater exercise.
abstract: The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the effect of wearing a wet suit on selected psychological and physiologic variables. Certified divers (n = 13) finned underwater at 0.52 m/s for 20 min with and without a wet suit. Order was randomly assigned and performed on separate days. Heart rate, respiration rate, use of compressed air, ratings of perceived exertion, and breathing ratings increased significantly (P < 0.05) for both conditions, and increases in heart rate, use of compressed air, and breathing ratings were significantly greater for the wet-suit condition. Rectal temperature increased significantly (P < 0.001) for the wet-suit but not the bathing-suit condition. State anxiety and body awareness increased (P < 0.001) following the wet-suit condition. Furthermore, state anxiety decreased significantly (P < 0.001) by 15 min after exercise in the bathing-suit condition. It is concluded that wet suit wear can result in elevated anxiety when performed at a water temperature and exercise intensity sufficient to produce increased core temperature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.
authors.forename: K F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Koltyn
authors.forename: W P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Morgan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000502:physiology*; D003080:Cold Temperature; D004242:Diving / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D005082:Physical Exertion / Q000502:physiology; D011481:Protective Clothing; D012119:Respiration / Q000502:physiology