Anyone that’s ever ventured out into the cold without being rugged up will know the body reacts very quickly. Cold fingers, toes and a shiver resonating throughout the body signify your body is under stress. And it wants out. Like exercise, extreme heat and fasting, cryotherapy stresses the body hormetically. Which basically means putting your body into a state where a cellular stress response is stimulated. And this is good for you.
One of the most significant benefits of cold therapy is its effects on inflammation. Specifically, norepinephrine. Cold therapy increases norepinephrine, an organic compound that functions in the brain and body as a hormone and neurotransmitter. It inhibits proinflammatory processes and may reduce the inflammation associated with arthritic pain, among other ailments associated with ageing.
The benefits of cold therapy on the brain are thanks to norepinephrine, too, as it’s responsible for vigilance, attention, focus, and positive mood. When these levels are increased, the response in the brain is quite extraordinary, potentially leading to alterations in anxiety-related behaviours, and may prove beneficial for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders. Thus the ‘happy’ endorphins after a cold plunge!
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We all know having a strong immunity is critical to health, and often, chronic disease can be linked to a weakened immune system. Well, cryotherapy once again promotes the development of a healthy immune cell population, which protects the body from cancer. The fat burning effects of cold therapy are well known and this is thanks to thermogenesis. Thermogenesis is the body’s reaction to cold therapy, and it can be broken down into two types. Shivering thermogenesis and non- shivering thermogenesis. We all know and have experienced the shivering subcategory, but the latter is a little less understood. Non-shivering thermogenesis is when norepinephrine, once again, acts on proteins to uncouple the normal processes within mitochondria. Only one test we have found can check your Omega-3 index, and they ship to Australia. It is a simple finger prick test. |
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The body responds by producing more mitochondria (a cell’s energy). When your body produces more mitochondria, it converts the body’s white adipose tissue into brown adipose tissue. This is good news for all, as the more brown adipose tissue the body has, the greater the amount of fat it will burn. Turning your body into a fat-burning machine.
More scientific evidence is needed as to whether cold therapy has beneficial effects on the skin apart from the anti-inflammatory properties, but speculation suggests that blood vessels in the skin constrict with cold exposure, promoting blood circulation. When you get out of the cold plunge, your vessels dilate, giving your skin a glow. Therefore, a reduction in skin inflammation and wrinkle appearance may be possible.
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Ideally, you want to work up to doing cold therapy for at least 11 minutes per week, broken up in whichever way suits you. Do however much you can safely tolerate and gradually work your way up to the 11 minutes total per week. The temperature will depend on your choice of therapy: ice bath, cryotherapy or cold showers, whatever works for you. But the theory goes you need to get uncomfortably cold for 11 minutes per week, which is individual to you.
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