A new sign of parasympaticotonia in trained athletes

Summary The amount of eccrine sweat induced by pilocarpine at rest is significantly higher in 10 endurance cyclists than in 13 wrestlers, 29 football-players and 129 normal subjects. Also in 29 football-players a partial relation between the degree of bradycardia, ability to perform work and the amount of sweat at rest was found. A significant (0.05 < P < 0.01) relation between bradycardia and the amount of effort sweat has been detected.Those findings are explained as a new sign of increased tone of the parasympathetic nervous system in trained athletes.