Photo: Tobias Oetiker, Unsplash
Is Cold-Therapy Like Plunges A Stupid That Is Accidentally-Awesome?:
History is full of people doing dumb things.
JNCO jeans, Insane Clown Posse, Prodigy hairstyles, and you know,… (sketchy international econ policies).
But the “YOLO!” silliness isn’t restricted to just Dubstep and Juggalos.
It’s also part of the Health & Wellness space, too. With bro-science and Tik-Tok usually taking the lead.
So this week’s wacky entry should be no surprise.
Originally-conceived for helping serious athletes recover faster, Cold-Plunges have become their own bro-science morning ritual fad.
But this time, the sciencing bros might not be wrong…
The Short Answer:
- History is full of stupid wellness ideas.
- These include things like automated exercise machines, face-electocutors, and the proverbial “snake oil”.
- A U.Ottawa team investigated the “morning routine people” fad of cold-plunges.
- 10 young subjects in +/- perfect health were tested 1 hour/day across 7 days at 57F.
- Their inflammation and cell-cleanup systems freaked-out for the first 4 days.
- During that time, the body sacrificed a lot of cells quickly.
- But on the 4th day, the cell-cleanup routine normalized.
- By the 7th day, their bodies had normalized and cells adapted at a microscopic level.
- Inflammation was gone, and the disposal and cleanup routines were working even better than before.
- Because of this, researchers think cold-plunges can retrain a body to adapt faster & better.
- The accelerated cell-disposal & cleanup is also associated with longer life and fewer diseases.
- Cold-plunges may not just be a productivity-narcissist fad after-all.
- Experts advise against trying it without doctor approval, especially if you have cardiovascular, blood-sugar, or neuropathy issues.
- For those who don’t, the best way to try is to keep it short and not too cold.
- Ie: 1-5 minutes, and no colder than 54F water temperature.
- Saunas have even more documented benefits.
Read on to find out the details…
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Humanity Has A Long History Of Wacky Health Fads:
Wacky health remedies are as much a fact of life as Human imperfection.
Whether it’s the weird contraptions of the early 1900s claiming to burn fat with springs & shakers,
Or doing face-lifts with electrical-current!
We just never seem to be good enough, so we find weird new ways to torture and pickle ourselves on the path to perfection.
This includes those “morning routine people” who repurpose Ego-death, chlorophyll, and overpriced salt just to remind us they do Crossfit and get up at 5AM.
The Scary, Shivvvverrrrry, Study Results That Cannot Tell A Lie:
But gosh darnit, the University Of Ottawa just proved the morning bros right!
In a very small study of 10 healthy young men, doing 1 hour/day, for 7 days straight, the team found there are actual benefits to chilly-but-safe (57F) cold-plunges.
(this does not however include dunking your nuggets in liquid-nitrogen with the cryotherapy wingnuts)
Those benefits are:
1) Increased cellular cleanup routine
2) Improved damaged-cell disposal
3) Adaptation to difficult environmental conditions
It sounds like a long time to torture yourself, but the speed of the adaptation did amaze the researchers.
For example, “We were amazed to see how quickly the body adapted,” is what study author Kelli King did say.
-So there!
That being said, those benefits are going to cost you…
Being A Beginner Usually Sucks. This Time It Feels Like You’re Dying:
Because what you have to go through first is like becoming a phoenix made of ice.
Day 1) The subjects’ blood-test results looked like their bodies were overwhelmed.
Inflammation went way up, and the body’s cleanup routine basically stopped working.
Not only that, but the inflammation showed the body was experiencing some damage and rapidly sacrificing cells.
HELP!!!
Photo: The first foot-based smartphone, Rare Historical Photos
But On The Seventh Day, You Shall Rise Again Reborn!:
Day 2) Same thing.
Day 3) Same thing.
Day 4) The previous conditions continued right up to the frickin’ end of this day!
The one encouraging part was the body’s cleanup routine finally started rebooting itself by that point.
Days 5 &6) Same as four.
Day 7) Somehow just like in famous stories, the miracle [of adaptation] showed-up here.
At that point, cell-death markers slowed way down and cleanup routine got way better than before the experiment.
The Weird Cellular-Reboot That Could Extend Lifespan And More:
So not only did subjects end up shivering less by the 7th day,
Their bodies were better at handling environmental stress.
And this matters a lot more than just for productivity-narcissists.
It looks like by enhancing the body’s cleanup routine, regular cold-plunges could have actual non-bullsh*t benefits like:
1) Anti-Aging properties
2) Reduction in the Incidence of Disease; long-term!
And under the surface, it looks like there are MANY complex adaptations going on, not just restricted to blood-flow and accommodation.
The Experts Advise Starting Out Cold-Plunges Short, Sweet, & Safe:
If you want to try this there are several easy ways experts advise you can ease your way in.
1) Keep it short. 1-5 Minutes
2) Keep it moderate. No lower than 54F for temperature
3) Keep it simple. The bath tub is fine
4) Keep it safe. Ask your doctor first. -Especially if you have cardio, neuropathy, or blood-sugar issues
And let’s face it, for most of us even a very short cold shower is enough home-based torture to achieve a similar effect.
The other tragedy of doing this is that you may have to make it a regular practice to get the same benefits as study subjects.
Photo: Hip Massager ca.1928, Rare Historical Photos
Saunas Actually Have More Documented Health Benefits:
Just for contrast, other than the “Pro athlete soreness”-case for cold-plunges,
Saunas have many more benefits backed up by studies, including those mentioned by everyone’s favorite health-hacker, Dr. Rhonda Patrick.
1) Reduces Stress
2) Reduces Depression
3) Reduces Anxiety
4) Improves Cardiovascular Health
5) May Improve Some Chronic Pain Conditions
6) [Weirdly] Helps Sore Muscles
7) Reduces Neurodegenerative Diseases Like Alzheimer’s
[possibly through general inflammation-reduction]
8) Improves Immune System Function
9) And Several Others
Or if you wanted to get really weird, you could do “The Scandinavian Triathlon” of Sauna, Lake-Based Cold-Plunge, then Vodka.
-All while naked!
-With friends!
But There Are A Few Standard Benefits Of Cold-Plunges:
So for those still determined to try ice instead of fire, their more standard benefits do actually include improvements for:
1) Sore Muscles
2) Sleep
3) High Body-temp
4) Mental Focus
5) Inflammation
Reference – Personal Experience With Cold-Therapy Using Showers:
As a side-note, my own experience with cold showers was weird.
It was torture for as long as I could stand, but I never measured the temp.
Shivered like crazy for about 10-15 minutes.
But then weirdly, got VERY sleepy about 30-40 minutes later and just had to crash.
So other than the “standard reference” for these things, you now have at least one real user-review.
But because of the discomfort and the unwanted giga-naps, I only did it one other time.
You Mess With Friedrich Nietzsche At Your Peril!:
And so before you ask your doctor for clearance to go do weird crap with extreme-temperatures,
Let us all remember Conan O’Brien’s important addition to a famous Nietzsche quote:
“Nietzsche famously said ‘Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’
What he failed to stress, is that it almost kills you.”
Godspeed, intrepid temperature adventurers!
References & Links:
• Source: U.Ottawa
• More Coverage: CC-Cold Plunges | CC-Sauna | Mental Floss – Strange Treatments | MessyNessyChic | Rare Historical Photos 1 | and 2
• Source Study: AdvBio – The Effect of 7-Day Cold Water Acclimation on Autophagic and Apoptotic Responses in Young Males
