A four-node thermoregulation model for predicting the thermal physiological responses of a sleeping person

Thermoregulation and sleep interacted each other and thermoregulatory responses were present during sleep to maintain small oscillations of core temperature of a sleeping person. In order to improve sleep quality, it was necessary to investigate the thermoregulatory responses of a sleeping person. This paper reports on a study of developing a four-node thermoregulation model for predicting thermal physiological responses of a sleeping person, based on the existing Gagge's two-node model. Firstly, the Gagge's two-node model is introduced in detail. This is followed by reporting the necessary modifications to Gagge's two-node model for developing the four-node thermoregulation model for a sleeping person. Thirdly, the four-node thermoregulation model is presented in detail. Lastly, the validation of the four-node thermoregulation model by comparing the predicted thermal physiological responses, including skin and core temperatures, using the model developed with the experimental data previously obtained by others is presented. The comparison results showed that the four-node thermoregulation model developed could be used to predict the thermal physiological responses of a sleeping person, with an acceptable accuracy. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.