Effectiveness of a Method of Evaluating the Clothing Comfort Sensation in a Perspiration State by Measuring Psychophysiological Responses

We measured the psychophysiological responses of participants wearing two kinds of undershirts made from hydrophobic fibers to investigate the sensation of clothing comfort. In the experiment, participants perspired following exercise. The perspiration increased the humidity within the clothing, decreased the skin surface temperature, and worsened the comfort sensation. Multiple regression analysis revealed a stuffy sensation and a skin contact sensation as factors of the comfort sensation. Measurements of physiological responses revealed that the low-frequency/high-frequency ratio obtained from an electrocardiogram had high negative correlation with comfort sensation in the exercise/rest process. A difference in the moisture transport properties of the samples revealed that participants discerned a stuffy sensation and cool sensation, and there is the possibility that the difference in the stuffy sensation of the samples can be evaluated by the CVRR, which is an index of parasympathetic nerve activity.