So I've noticed and thought it was strange watching some progamers play while wearing a thick jacket. I've always known that having warm hands helps you perform better (ie. faster and more accurate hand movements). But I never thought having a warm body would also increase performance capability. Listening to Tasteless' commentary, I've learned it has something to do with increased blood flow. And so I'm wondering if anyone knows...

1) Why is it a greater benefit to have the whole body be warm as opposed to just the hands?
2) Why does warm body temperature increase blood flow?
3) Why does increased blood flow enable faster hand movements?

If you have answer(s), please feel free to use as much biological terminology as you'd like. This is mostly for curiosity but I may end up using this information in a schoolwork-related presentation.

MTF

United States1739 Posts

December 11 2008 10:17 GMT

1) Why is it a greater benefit to have the whole body be warm as opposed to just the hands?

I'm not certain on it, but I believe the warmer your body temperature around your vital organs, the warmer your extremities overall will be. Blood-flow is constricted in your limbs to protect your vital organs when you get cold, so making your overall body temperature warmer allows blood to flow more freely to your hands/feet.

Thing is, I'm not sure where I know that from, so I could be completely wrong. :p

inlagdsil

Canada957 Posts

December 11 2008 10:18 GMT

I've been wondering about that too. My explanation is this: when you get cold, blood flow is restricted to your extremities so that your vital organs get more of the warmth. By keeping their bodies warm, they are actually insuring that this process doesn't happen and thus that their hands stay warm.
Anyone have a better hypothesis?

EDIT MTF, you beat me to it!

thedeadhaji

39489 Posts

December 11 2008 10:19 GMT

my body temperature is 97.4, i can now use that for an excuse for why i suck!

jello_biafra

United Kingdom6642 Posts

December 11 2008 10:20 GMT

I thought they wore jackets because it was cold...
Edit:like in the outdoor arenas.

JMave

Singapore1806 Posts

December 11 2008 10:35 GMT

Probably helps in blood circulation allowing the guys to think better.

renegade_zerg

Korea (South)525 Posts

December 11 2008 10:54 GMT

that and it gets cold as shit in korea

TheTyranid

Russian Federation4333 Posts

December 11 2008 11:16 GMT

On December 11 2008 19:54 renegade_zerg wrote:
that and it gets cold as shit in korea

SK shouldn't have continental climate.

How cold does it get in the winter?

renegade_zerg

Korea (South)525 Posts

December 11 2008 11:20 GMT

0 degrees celsius to -7 +/-

Hittegods

Stockholm4642 Posts

December 11 2008 11:30 GMT

#10

On December 11 2008 19:19 thedeadhaji wrote:
my body temperature is 97.4, i can now use that for an excuse for why i suck!

That's almost boiling O_O

jello_biafra

United Kingdom6642 Posts

December 11 2008 11:37 GMT

#11

On December 11 2008 20:30 Hittegods wrote:

Show nested quote +

That's almost boiling O_O

Fahrenheit

Savio

United States1850 Posts

December 11 2008 15:26 GMT

#12

My guess is that when you are warmer, the cell membranes in your body are more fluid. Since movement depends on quick action potentials in your nerves (sodium flowing into the nerves cell), if you were warmer, that may occur faster so the signal would be passed faster.

Also, muscle contraction may occur faster as well and sensory information would be processed faster.

These are my hypotheses anyway.

Durak

Canada3685 Posts

December 11 2008 16:18 GMT

#13

On December 11 2008 19:54 renegade_zerg wrote:
that and it gets cold as shit in korea

Ya, okay. From what I know it gets to like -5C in Korea. I guess -40C would be cold as fuck then.

I guess I should move someplace warm so I can get that extra letter on iccup.

Klockan3

Sweden2866 Posts

December 11 2008 18:25 GMT

#14

On December 12 2008 01:18 Durak wrote:
I guess I should move someplace warm so I can get that extra letter on iccup.

Or pay the electricity bills!

You know that being warm longterm lowers your reaction time instead since the body tries to not get hotter and thus tries to shut down as many things as possible.

GHOSTCLAW

United States17042 Posts

December 11 2008 18:39 GMT

#15

On December 11 2008 20:37 jello_biafra wrote:

Show nested quote +

Fahrenheit

x_X you sure it's not in C?

Cpt.Cocaine

Canada299 Posts

December 11 2008 19:02 GMT

#16

There's a part of your brain whose sole function is to ensure that your body maintains a stable state (in terms of temperature, among other things), and it can send signals controlling muscle contractions and blood vessel expansion in order to maintain that state more efficiently.

The temperature in your body is kept even through blood circulation. Because the blood contains the warmth, when it gets cold outside, your body attempts to minimize the blood's surface exposure to the external environment by narrowing blood vessels that are near the outside of the body (like just under the skin or in the limbs). Keeping most of the blood volume near the center of the body (where it's already warm) prevents it from cooling too fast. The decreased efficiency comes from the fact that the muscle cells in your hands receive oxygen and nutrients at a slower rate.

It's the same thing as when you try to cool down food like pasta or rice by stirring it - you're maximizing the pasta/rice's exposure to the cold external environment and allowing heat to dissipate faster.

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