For thousands of years, humans wandered outside in all weather conditions. Not spend our lives indoors in air-conditioned offices or centrally heated homes. Wim Hof, who is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost experts on cold therapy, says that if we could dedicate all our time outside, that would be ideal for us.

The Iceman (Hof) and others have stated that we have lost a connection to our true nature; “the capacity of our bodies to endure temperature changes and succeed within the nature of the world.” From this thinking and sports science, cryotherapy and cold therapy have come forth.

What is cold therapy?

Cold therapy is exposing yourself to a very cold environment, forcing the body to shake itself free from its normal comfort zone. You might take a cold shower in the morning, swim in the water during winter, take a cold bath, or enter the cold chamber (like the Lifecube, which will be available at the glasshouse retreat).

Sports stars from many different fields, including football, tennis, and energy, have practiced taking ice baths for years. A cold bath after exercise speeds up the repair of injuries and helps facilities heal more quickly, according to sports experts.

What are the benefits of cold therapy?

Quicker muscle and injury recovery

Cold therapy is popular for sports science applications in the United States, especially for reducing pain, swelling, inflammation, fatigue, and recovery time in various parts of the human body. Benefits discussed and examined in medical research studies include reductions in movement pain, inflammation, edema, swelling, muscle spasms, and metabolic needs.

A research group of 360 healthy individuals, who had either enjoyed or regularly immersed themselves in the water, discovered that cold water baths more than 24 minutes long (about 50 to 59 °F) were able to resolve muscle pain. Not only do elite sports professionals frequently appear in their post-workout ice baths, but it’s also the supported logic among athletes and experts.

Combats inflammation

Given that cold therapy alleviates muscle pain, it’s logical that cold therapy is of benefit in reducing inflammation as well. Cold exposure stimulates the production of adiponectin in the body, which decreases inflammation. Furthermore, research shows that exercising in the cold does not cause the same inflammatory response as in warmer temperatures.

Helps fat loss

It’s true that athletes can go much quicker than they might use physical therapy, but athletes looking to lose weight may also want to think about the effects of cold exposure. Remarkably, you’re going to be able to eat more calories and reduce fat while minimizing these advantages if you consider cold therapy.

All of us have brown adipose tissue (BAT) in our bodies that burn calories and converts them into heat. BAT is excellent at turning calories into heat. When we get exposed to cold, our BAT burns calories to keep us warm. Research indicates that when we expose ourselves to cold, our BAT provides our bodies with an opportunity to burn calories.

Good news for anyone wanting to lose weight in a healthy way, with exercise, whilst still eating the same amount of food.

Lowers blood glucose

Besides aiding battle inflammation, the wonder protein, adiponectin, also helps regulate blood sugar levels. Exposure to cold can boost adiponectin production by as much as 70 percent, according to one study. It’s been established that exposure to cold can enhance the body’s response to insulin, clearing the glucose from the blood faster.

Too much sugar isn’t good for anyone, but with cold therapy, you can at least know your body is able to deal with it easier.

Other benefits

Studies have found that cold therapy can improve your immune system, sleep, and strength of will. Researchers found that sleeping with a low core body temperature doubled the time you achieved restorative sleep.

The suggested greater exposure to cold is believed to increase our adrenaline production, improving our immune system’s activity. Regular and repeated cold immersion also kick-starts regeneration processes that destroy dead cells and lymphocytes. And if not all of that is enough for me, then merely battling the cold itself may improve my willpower, right?