Heat and cold are commonly used for treating injuries to specific areas of the body. But what about heating and cooling your entire body? Are these helpful in any meaningful way? Or is it just a silly fad without any merit?
Biohackers have promoted these ideas over the
last few years. Let’s see if there’s any substance to their advice.
Spending time in a sauna regularly has its benefits:
- Stress relief. Sitting in a
sauna can feel wonderful. It’s stress-relieving and cleansing, especially after you wash the sweat off.
- Formation of heat shock proteins. Excessive heat stimulates specific genes to create heat shock
proteins.
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These are helpful in eliminating free radicals in the body. Heat shock
proteins can also repair damaged proteins.
- Spending time in a sauna can prolong your life. Research has shown that spending some time in a sauna at least
four days a week may reduce the incidence of several causes of death.
These include fatal cardiovascular disease, coronary disease, and sudden
cardiac death.
- Endurance and aerobic capacity increase. Red blood cell counts and blood plasma volume increase with
regular sauna use.
- Increased circulation. Heat
causes your blood vessels to dilate and increases your heart rate. This
can help injuries to heal faster and improve mobility in joints affected
with arthritis.
Keep in mind that normal sauna temperatures
are just fine. There’s no reason to crank up the heat in hopes of gaining
greater benefits. No benefit is worth risking your life. Be reasonable.
A nice cold bath might not be that appealing
but learn the advantages before making decisions!
A 10-minute ice bath can be
beneficial, too:
- Reduces inflammation.
Exposure to cold reduces inflammation. This is why you might ice a
sprained ankle. It turns out that
if you cool the entire body, the anti-inflammatory effect affects the
entire body.
●
An ice bath can reduce pain more
effectively than just icing a specific area of the body.
●
Many diseases, including heart
disease, are believed to be at least partially due to systemic inflammation in
the body. Regular ice baths may reduce the likelihood of developing many
diseases.
- Enhances immune system.
White blood cell counts increase after spending time in an ice bath. This
has been shown to reduce the likelihood of getting sick.
- May reduce depression. Some
studies have shown that regular ice baths can enhance mood.
The term “ice bath” is a bit of a misnomer.
The most commonly researched temperature is 50 degrees Fahrenheit, which feels
colder than you might think. It’s
possible that your tap water is that cold. The time spent in the cold water
was 8-12 minutes.
Maybe you don’t have access to a sauna or a
cold bath. Will a hot tub, hot shower, or a cold shower work just as well?
There are definitely health benefits to safely
exposing yourself to hot and cold temperatures. The stress that these situations create stimulates the body to make
healthy adaptations.
However, as with all things, it’s important to
be safe and reasonable! If you use hot and cold therapy safely, they can
benefit your health.
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