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Cold exposure featured article

Introduction

Cold exposure to promote good health is an ancient practice, now used to reduce muscle soreness and promote muscle recovery after physical activity. However, regular cold exposure may also improve glucose and lipid metabolism, decrease inflammation, enhance immune function, and improve cognitive performance. The beneficial effects of cold exposure may be due to hormesis, a favorable biological response to a mild stressor. Hormesis triggers protective mechanisms that protect against future, more harmful stressors.

Despite the presumed benefits of cold exposure, it poses some risks, especially in unsupervised or uncontrolled conditions. See our overview of cold exposure safety concerns at the end of this article.

This article provides an overview of cold exposure modalities and the physiological responses, health effects, and safety concerns associated with the practice.

Cold exposure modalities

Common cold exposure modalities include cold water...

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Dr. Andy Galpin: The Optimal Diet, Supplement, & Recovery Protocol for Peak Performance

Posted on April 22nd 2025 (28 days)

Dr. Andy Galpin & Dr. Rhonda Patrick discuss nutrition, supplement, and recovery strategies for improving exercise performance.

cold stress

Can You Use Cold Exposure Without Sacrificing Gains?

Posted on September 27th 2024 (8 months)

In this clip, Dr. Luc van Loon discusses cold water immersion's effects on muscle recovery and optimal timing to avoid blunting gains.

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"Nothing Spikes Dopamine Like 1 Minute of This" - Andrew Huberman

Posted on September 26th 2024 (8 months)

In this clip, Dr. Andrew Huberman describes how deliberate cold exposure enhances stress tolerance and how this impacts dopamine release.

Topic Pages

  • Cold exposure

    Cold exposure may be a hormetic stressor that reduces inflammation, activates antioxidant enzymes, and boosts the immune system to protect against age-related diseases.

News & Publications

  • Whole-body cryotherapy improves mood, reduces anxiety, and enhances sleep quality, with specific enhancement in slow-wave, restorative sleep seen in a recent study. www.sciencedirect.com
    Sleep Mental Health Cold Stress

    Cold exposure offers surprising health benefits, and emerging evidence suggests that whole-body cryotherapy enhances wellness and even improves sleep. A recent study found that five days of daily cryotherapy improved mood, reduced anxiety, and enhanced sleep quality in healthy young adults.

    The study involved 20 physically active young adults who underwent five consecutive days of cryotherapy sessions and five consecutive days of no cold exposure. The cryotherapy sessions lasted five minutes in a chamber cooled to -90°C (-130°F). Researchers used actimetry, brain activity recordings, and self-reported questionnaires to measure the participants' sleep patterns. They also assessed their mood, anxiety, and heart rate variability during the nights following each condition.

    Participants who underwent cryotherapy reported a 9% improvement in subjective sleep quality, with women benefiting the most. The cryotherapy sessions also increased slow-wave sleep, the most restorative sleep phase, by an average of seven minutes per night. No substantial changes were observed in heart rate variability or other sleep parameters.

    These findings from this small study suggest that repeated whole-body cryotherapy is a promising strategy for improving slow-wave sleep and psychological well-being, especially for women. Learn more about cold exposure in our comprehensive overview article.

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  • Warming muscles prior to high-intensity exercise boosts power and performance by 11%, suggests a small study on cyclists. link.springer.com
    Exercise Heat Stress Cold Stress Sauna

    Study link:

    Athletes often warm up before a big race, but does heating your muscles make a difference? An early study found that warming muscles boosts performance by 11% during intense exercise—but at a cost.

    Researchers asked four young, healthy adults to perform 20-second high-intensity sprints on an exercise bike under four different muscle temperature conditions: room temperature, after leg immersion in hot water (44°C/111.2°F), and after immersion in cool water (18°C/64.4°F and 12°C/53.6°F). They measured the participants' muscle temperature and analyzed their peak force and power output during each sprint.

    They found that increasing muscle temperature using warm water immersion boosted peak force and power 11% more than resting at room temperature. In contrast, cooling the legs in 18°C (64.4°F) and 12°C (53.6°F) water decreased power output 12% and 21% more, respectively. However, higher muscle temperatures also led to quicker fatigue during the sprints. The beneficial effect of temperature was greater at higher pedaling speeds, with a 10% increase in power for every degree (1°C/1.8°F) increase in temperature at the fastest speed.

    It’s important to note that this was a small study that was conducted several years ago. However, the findings suggest that warming muscles before high-intensity exercise enhances power and performance, particularly at faster speeds. This benefit comes with a trade-off of earlier fatigue, potentially limiting endurance activity performance. Cooling, on the other hand, may reduce power output but could extend endurance by slowing the onset of fatigue.

    Interestingly, research shows that warming the body after exercise—in a sauna, for example—can boost performance. In contrast, cCooling the body after exercise may improve glucose and lipid metabolism, decrease inflammation, improve cognitive performance, and enhance immune function — possibly at the cost of reductions in hypertrophy. Learn more in this episode featuring Dr. Rhonda Patrick.

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  • Chronic cold exposure reduces tumor growth by 80 percent and doubles survival rates in mice. www.newscientist.com
    Cancer Cold Stress Brown Fat

    Cancer treatments often target glucose uptake to impede tumor growth, primarily through pharmaceuticals, many of which exert considerable side effects. However, cold exposure is emerging as a potential alternative to these drug-based therapies. A recent study in mice found that cold exposure reduced tumor growth by 80 percent and increased survival rates twofold.

    Researchers conducted a two-part study in mice and humans. First, they exposed mice with cancer to cold (4°C, 39°F) or thermoneutral (30°C, 86°F) temperatures for about three weeks. They found that the cold exposure activated the animals' brown fat, depleting the energy supply available to the tumors. The cold-exposed mice exhibited marked tumor growth inhibition and a nearly twofold increase in survival rates relative to the thermoneutral mice. Interestingly, when they fed the cold-exposed mice a high-glucose diet, the animals did not experience the same extent of tumor growth inhibition, suggesting that glucose scarcity was pivotal in suppressing cancer growth.

    In the second part of the study, they exposed healthy people to cool temperatures (16°C, 61°F) for two to six hours per day for 14 days and found that the participants experienced brown fat activation similar to the mice. Then, they exposed a person with Hodgkin’s lymphoma to cool (22°C, 71°F) temperatures for seven days and found that the participant exhibited activated brown fat and their tumor showed diminished glucose consumption, suggesting the findings in mice translate to humans.

    These findings suggest that cold exposure activates brown fat, reducing blood glucose and impeding tumor growth. Brown fat is a thermogenic (heat-producing) tissue. Studies in animals and humans suggest that brown fat can improve glucose and insulin sensitivity, increase fat oxidation, and protect against diet-induced obesity. Cold exposure increases brown fat volume and metabolism and drives glucose uptake. Learn more about cold exposure and its effects on brown fat in our overview article.

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  • Brown fat is linked with lower risk of some chronic diseases. www.sciencedaily.com
    Obesity Cold Stress Brown Fat

    Obesity, or having excess body fat, is a known risk factor for a wide range of diseases, including diabetes, cancer, and dementia. Findings from a new study indicate that having brown fat is linked with lower risk of some chronic diseases.

    Brown fat, also known as brown adipose tissue, is found in all mammals and is particularly abundant in newborns. Unlike white fat, brown fat is a metabolically active tissue that is rich in mitochondria. It helps maintain body temperature during cold exposure, during which its uptake of glucose is eightfold higher than that of muscle tissues.

    The authors of the retrospective case-control investigation reviewed imaging reports from more than 52,000 adults who had undergone diagnostic positron emission tomography (PET) scans (nearly 135,000 total scans). They also reviewed the participants' health records.

    The PET scans revealed that nearly 10 percent of the study participants had detectable brown fat. Those who had brown fat were less likely to have type 2 diabetes, abnormal lipid levels, coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, congestive heart failure, and hypertension. They were also more likely to have favorable blood glucose, triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein levels. These effects were greatest in people who had obesity or overweight. The authors suggested that having brown fat might counteract some of the harmful effects of obesity.

    These findings indicate that brown fat may protect against some diseases and suggest that adopting lifestyle behaviors that promote production of brown fat, such as exercise or cold exposure, may be beneficial. Some nutrients and bioactive compounds, such as curcumin, capsaicin, resveratrol, and omega-3 fatty acids, may increase brown fat production, too.

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