This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience, to keep the site secure and reliable, provide social media features and analyze how the website is used. Find out more about cookies and the ways we use them by reading our
Privacy Policy. Click "Accept" to agree to our use of cookies and similar technologies.
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Temperature of health – the benefits of hot and cold therapy
DISCLAIMER: THIS ARTICLE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE
The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.
„You’re hot and you’re cold, you’re yes and you’re no” – the lyrics of Katy Perry’s song were the first thing that came to my mind when I started thinking about hot and cold therapies. Why does manipulating the temperature of water and air have such powerful impact on health? And why does the vision of going for thermal extremes, despite the very long list of benefits for both physical and mental health, polarize even the most dedicated wellness followers? I immerse in the depths of human physiology and psychology to find the answers.
Heating things up, cooling them down
As soon as the weather gets into fall-winter mode, we pull out the sweaters from the backs of the wardrobes not to get cold. As soon as sun starts shining stronger in the springtime, we reduce the layers of clothes not to get too warm. When it comes to temperature, we like the optimal. We don’t want to sweat, we don’t want to freeze and we’re used to avoiding any thermal extremes in order to keep the physical comfort. The nature helps – our bodies were created with built-in thermostats that help us keep the average, optimal 36,6 °C.1 Our internal body temperature is regulated by the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that produces hormones that also control mood, hunger and heart rate.2 The hypothalamus monitors the body’s temperature and reacts if it gets above or below the norm. If it gets too low, it makes the body generate heat, e.g. by making the muscles shiver or the thyroid gland release hormones to increase your metabolism.3 If it gets too high, the hypothalamus makes the sweat glands release sweat and blood vessels get wider to cool you down.4 Thermoregulation is crucial for the effectiveness of various body systems and prevents from multiple organ failure.5 But apparently it’s good to regularly push the body out of the thermal comfort zone straight to the ice cold bath or sauna.
What is cold therapy?
Wim Hof, a Dutch extreme athlete, famous for breaking a number of records related to cold exposure including climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in shorts, loves the cold and wants us to love it too. His method 6, combining the power of the breath and cold, is supposed to get us back on the natural path to strength, health and mental clarity. Before you get too excited, I should mention the path leads through extreme cold. The cold therapy, combined with the specialized breathing technique and practiced with commitment, is a base pillar of Wim Hof Method®. According to The Iceman, as Wim is called, proper exposure to the cold can make you experience a multi-level health benefits, from reduced inflammation to balanced hormones and regaining control over your own mind. What do you have to experience in exchange? The forms of cold exposure vary but I think the most popular, mainly thanks to the Instagram #wimhofmethod challenge with over 315 m tags from all over the world, is taking an ice bath. It’s not a metaphor – it simply means getting your body to a lake, bathtub, or any other container filled with cold water and / or ice cubes and focusing on the proper breath, following Wim’s instructions: 7
“Close your eyes and try to clear your mind. Be conscious of your breath, and try to fully connect with it. Inhale deeply through the nose or mouth, and exhale unforced through the mouth. Fully inhale through the belly, then chest and then let go unforced. Repeat this 30 to 40 times in short, powerful bursts. You may experience light-headedness, and tingling sensations in your fingers and feet. These side effects are completely harmless. After the last exhalation, inhale one final time, as deeply as you can. Then let the air out and stop breathing. Hold until you feel the urge to breathe again.”
Benefits of cold therapy
Famous as he is, Wim Hof is not the first one who came up with the idea of healing through cold exposure. The earliest written records of using cold therapy in systematic medical procedures were discovered in ancient Egyptian texts, dating back to 3500 B.C.8 The method of cooling the body for health benefits was expanding throughout the ages and became highly appreciated among European aristocracy from 17th century on.9 Why should we put ourselves in a place of such physical discomfort? I’ll let the neurobiologist, Dr. Andrew Huberman, give you some answers. According to the latest research, cold therapy benefits include: (source)
You don’t need to wait until winter to benefit from cold exposure. Simply start (cold exposure can make you feel more alert and it’s better to avoid it during the evening self- care routine) your day with a cold bath or a shower. If you want to follow science- approved method, keep in mind Dr. Huberman’s guidelines: „Consider doing deliberate cold exposure for 11 minutes per week total. Not per session, but rather, 2-4 sessions lasting 1-5 mins each distributed across the week. Again, the water temperature should be uncomfortably cold yet safe to stay in for a few minutes. You can do more, but this should be the minimum to achieve the benefits of cold exposure. You can do very cold, very brief exposures for adrenaline release too, but the 11 minutes is based on a recent study that explored a range of effects and is a good solid, basic protocol for ongoing use.” 10
What is hot therapy?
If the vision of taking an ice bath is giving you cold feet, I have something to warm you up. Hot therapy, the other end of thermal extreme. Again, it’s not a 21st century invention. Dating back to 2000 B.C., ancient Egyptians were amongst the first ones to recognize the benefits of hot baths for its therapeutic qualities. 11 The use of saunas, designed to perform dry or wet heat sessions, is also rooted in Nordic and Islamic cultures.12 Despite the passing of time, they’ve been as popular as ever. Research shows that „ nation of 5.5 million people, Finland, has as many saunas as television sets — around 3.3 million.”13 Home saunas are a national standard, although they’re also popular amenities in offices and factories. No wonder Finns and other Nordic nations show such high level of appreciation of this cultural heritage. When the blood vessels relax and dilate and blood flow starts to increase, the sauna health benefits magic begins.
Benefits of hot therapy
Dr. Mark Hyman swears by performing his sauna routine twice a day. Every now and then he combines it with cold baths or showers14 and calls it one of the best bio hacks for longevity. Here’s the list of science-based benefits that can make anyone fall in love with this warming routine:15
The protocols to use hot therapy depend on the type of sauna (steam, dry or infrared, the one that uses light to make heat) you choose. General precautions include17 avoiding alcohol and medications that may impair sweating and produce overheating, staying in no more than indicated in the instruction, gradual cooling down afterwards and drinking plenty of water before, during and after each session. Due to potential risks, including hypotension and arrhythmia, 18 it’s better to check with the doctors before taking a sauna.
To be sure what kind of discomfort I’m writing about, in the past weeks I’ve been testing both cold and hot therapies. Surprisingly, despite my 0 tolerance for long cold exposure and penchant to warmth, what my body started craving every single morning was a cold shower. As soon as I’ve put aside the vision of potential physical suffering and just went for, or should I say under it, it became, without any exaggeration, enjoyable. As if every single cell in my body got injected with energy that usually took hours to generate. Keeping this feeling in my mind, I’m keeping those showers in my daily routine.
Marzena Jarczak
An international model based in Paris. A researcher, copy writer and a journalist exploring for us the areas of neuroscience, brain, biohacking, living healthy life. Author of Out & About series discovering cultural life in Paris in all its aspects. A strong, wise personality with a growth mindset.
Read More:
SHARE:
JOURNAL
Related posts
When the stress shows
How changing your brain can change your life. The power of neuroplasticity.
Skin, the burning problem