Investigating the relationship between microclimate factors and human exercise performance from the perspective of citizen science

Abstract: The United Nations has long upheld the value of sports and exercise in building healthy individuals, promoting societal values, and nurturing crucial life skills. There exists a significant body of work already conducted on how environmental factors affect elite sporting athletes. However, much remains to be discovered about the effect of environmental conditions on exercise performance particularly as it might relate to more localised microclimates. This paper reports an independent research project conducted by a pair of high school students between April 2023 and March 2024, under the mentorship of a senior research scientist at the National Institute of Education in Singapore. The study aimed to investigate the relationships between microclimate factors and human exercise performance, and is situated under the aegis of a broader trajectory of work in which investigations of microclimate are approached from maker-centric perspectives. The particular exercise of interest was running due to its wide applicability and versatility. From personal experience, when the environment is hot and humid, the authors have found it particularly challenging to carry out an exercise routine at high intensities; exhaustion sets in rather quickly. To investigate this relationship, a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) environmental unit was built using Internet of Things (IoT) environmental sensors, which measured microclimate readings such as humidity, carbon dioxide concentration, ambient temperature, and wind speed. To capture exercise performance, biometric wristbands were built from component parts, using electrodermal activity sensors, an accelerometer and a gyroscope. This biometric device recorded raw electrical signals in the skin, as well as relevant physiological data from dynamic movements during exercise. The device – similar in function to a smartwatch - better suited the present investigation as it outputs raw electrical data. Both devices were secured with arm band straps. Prior to a session, participants were asked to fill out a form to self-report their current state of well-being, as well as present level of fitness. After a 15-minute warm-up, they were then asked to follow a pattern of activity adapted from the Loughborough Intermittent Shuttle Test (LIST), over a marked 20-m distance, in a specified location chosen by convenience, while wearing both the environmental device and biometric wristbands. Throughout the session, after warmup and after every set of activities, qualitative assessments were conducted on participants using Borg’s Rating of Perceived Exertion scale. This afforded a preliminary evaluation of the runner’s level of exertion during the exercise, and subsequent analysis with real-time environmental data would uncover underlying relationships between performance perception and microclimate. The data was preprocessed, then analysed using machine learning algorithms to uncover underlying correlations between environmental data and level of exertion during an exercise as measured by electrodermal activity (EDA). The latter has shown to be greatly influenced by ambient temperature and air humidity, displaying high correlation metrics. This agrees well with the existing body of work, thus further proving the potential of low–cost DIY sensors in investigating complex relationships involving human factors. Our findings could provide useful inferences for designing activity spaces to maximise athletes’ exercise performance.

Keywords: sports science, fitness and well-being, physiological exertion, exercise stress, citizen science, machine learning, wearables, data science, DIY

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1005288

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