masks

After the Coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) outbreak, the Whole world witnessed the strangest buying behavior within the customers. Suddenly masks, hand sanitizers, and toilet papers became the priority list of the customers. High demand and lesser availability of essentials products like masks, toilet papers, and hand sanitizers create a chaotic situation inside the retail outlet's stores.  The buyer’s behavior and the chaotic scenario inside a retail outlet drew the attention of several consumer psychologists, academicians, and researchers. A panic buying situation is the most common behavior that exists in a time of crisis. This paper discusses the panic buying situation briefly during COVID-19. However, a few types of research and studies were captured in the panic buying behavior. The current study examined the factors that influenced the customers buying decisions during the COVID-19 outbreak and secondly, it examined to what extent the buying decision of a customer creates a panic situation. Furthermore, the study looked at the emotional and cognitive responses of the individuals which play a pivotal role in influencing customer decision making the journey. Qualitative content analysis and thematic methodology were considered for data analysis. The results indicated that fear and uncertainties were the key emotional responses; whereas rumors, fallacious thinking, and survivalist psychological were the key cognitive responses that influenced the customer decision journey.

Background: The effects of wearing common masks during maximal exercise activities on individuals remain unclear.Aim: This study aimed to examine the effect of wearing surgical and N-95 masks on physiological, perceptual, and performance responses in healthy men performing a maximal shuttle run test.Materials and Methods: Fifteen healthy men (age 23.78 ± 2.0) participated in three sessions: without a mask, with a surgical mask, and with an N-95 mask, with a one-week interval between each session. After each test, physiological variables (heart rate, blood lactate concentration, and oxygen saturation), perceptual variables (comfort/discomfort and perceived exertion), and performance variables (maximum oxygen consumption and shuttle run test duration) were measured. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA to compare differences between the conditions.Results: Significant differences were observed between the conditions with and without a mask in terms of oxygen saturation (P= 0.043), blood lactate concentration (P= 0.026), and perceived exertion, maximum oxygen consumption, and shuttle run test duration (P= 0.001), with the no-mask condition demonstrating superior outcomes in all variables. The type of mask (surgical or N-95) did not significantly affect the measured variables. Wearing both masks led to an increased sensation of moisture, heat, shortness of breath, and fatigue.Conclusion: Wearing masks, especially during intense physical activities, may impair physiological and performance metrics, recommending mask-free outdoor settings when feasible.