The influence of perspiration caused by light physical exercises on skin electrical conductivity’s of meridians

The purpose of this study was to measure the rate of perspiration due to light physical exercises, and to measure its effect on skin electrical conductivity was related to meridian autonomous nervous excitation. The adopted exercises were 10 to 15-minute bicycling and two kinds of 10-minute qigong exercises. The experiment was carried out both in winter and summer under fixed temperature values. Our findings were as follows:
1. At room temperatures of 18.9 ± 2.0°C in winter, each of a 10-minute bicycling and qigong exercises caused a low rate of perspiration. It had, however, no effect on the skin electrical conductivity.
2. At room temperatures of 25°C in summer, the rate of perspiration due to bicycling was 0.7 to 0.8 mg/cm2/min, and was about two times as high as that in winter. Its effect on the electrical conductivity was again negligible.
3. At a room temperature 28°C in summer, the rate of perspiration due to bicycling was 1.3 to 1.8 mg/cm2/min, and had an apparent effect on the conductivity.
4. The change of the conductivity caused by a high rate of perspiration was similar to that of the case in which the hands and feet of the subject were moistened with a 1% solution of salt.
5. The probable reason why the lower rates of perspiration did not change the measured values of the conductivity was that the electrode which contacts the skin points was always sufficiently moistened and that the moisture of the electrode masked the effect of the skin moisture due to perspiration.