Harvard Fatigue Laboratory (1927–1947) was a research centre designed to investigate the physiological, sociological and psychological impacts of fatigue caused by daily activities, and those on the conditions that industry workers faced at the time.[1]
Founded in 1927, the laboratory was constructed in the basement of Morgan Hall at the Harvard Business School in Boston, part of Harvard University. The lab was described as a unique research facility that focused on a holistic approach to physiology, rather than systems- or organ-oriented.[1][2][3] The laboratory was shut down in 1947 after the Second World War, as university policies halted the research facility from seeking government funds and the President of Harvard no longer saw its worth.[4] The Fatigue Laboratory was seen as an instigator of exercise physiology as an academic discipline in part due to the legacy of the researchers that were once employed at the facility – forming and leading other exercise laboratories around the country after its closure.[5] Its academic output also contributed to this legacy, with researchers publishing over 300 peer-reviewed research studies during its 20 years of operation.[6]
Government funded projects during the Second World War realigned the laboratory's scientific endeavours from industry related research to research that involved the physiological environment soldiers faced at war. Clothing was tested to understand the heat distribution in the body to mitigate the impacts of 'trench-foot' and frostbite. Rations were also tested and recommendations of sufficient dietary requirements were sent to the army.[7]