THERMOPHYSIOLOGICAL COMFORT OF FAR INFRARED EMITTING GARMENTS

Far infrared (FIR) emitting fabrics are claimed to be functional textiles improving health and well-being. FIR textiles are derived from traditional fibres by incorporation of materials with appropriate electromagnetic absorption end emission properties. In this work two polyamide sports outfits, one containing FIR-emitting minerals and a placebo one, were compared. The two outfits were identical in fibre title, knitting pattern and body-fitting. An incremental test on a cycloergonometer was carried out by ten volunteers and several physiological parameters were monitored during the test. Moreover, a questionnaire was administered before and after the test to catch the volunteers' subjective sensations. The paired t-test highlighted a significant difference between the functionalized and the placebo outfit as far as oxygen transport efficiency was concerned. The oxygen uptake was greater with the functionalized outfit than the placebo one. Moreover, the anaerobic threshold was postponed and the endurance was significantly higher with the FIR-emitting outfit.