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I describe mechanisms by which deliberate cold exposure can enhance mental health, physical health, and performance. I detail specific protocols to safely engage in deliberate cold exposure, including minimal exposure times, time-of-day effects, determining optimal temperatures, recovery, mindset, and movement during cold exposure. I discuss how cold exposure can be used to safely stress the body to improve attention, mood, and cognitive focus and boost metabolism and reduce inflammation. Also, I explain how cold exposure on specific regions of the body (called glabrous skin surfaces) can be leveraged to enhance endurance and weight training and increase work output.
Article Links
- Brief aerobic exercise immediately enhances visual attentional control and perceptual speed. Testing the mediating role of feelings of energy (Acta Psychologica)
- Human physiological responses to immersion into water of different temperatures (European Journal of Applied Physiology)
- Altered brown fat thermoregulation and enhanced cold-induced thermogenesis in young, healthy, winter-swimming men (Cell Reports Medicine)
- Adipose-tissue plasticity in health and disease (Cell)
- Caffeine increases striatal dopamine D2/D3 receptor availability in the human brain (Translational Psychiatry)
- Impact of Cold-Water Immersion Compared with Passive Recovery Following a Single Bout of Strenuous Exercise on Athletic Performance in Physically Active Participants: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis and Meta-regression (Sports Medicine)
- Novel Application of Chemical Cold Packs for Treatment of Exercise-Induced Hyperthermia: A Randomized Controlled Trial (Wildnerness & Environmental Medicine)
- Work Volume and Strength Training Responses to Resistive Exercise Improve with Periodic Heat Extraction from the Palm (Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research)
Timestamps
Timestamp links will redirect to YouTube.
- 00:00:00 Deliberate Cold Exposure, Health Warning
- 00:04:23 Tool: Moderate Exercise & Cognitive Work
- 00:10:47 The Brain-Body Contract
- 00:11:32 AG1 (Athletic Greens), ROKA, Helix Sleep
- 00:15:37 Circadian Rhythm & Body Temperature
- 00:18:41 Tool: Quickly Decrease Core Body Temperature, Glabrous Skin
- 00:25:26 Mental Effects of Cold Exposure
- 00:29:02 Physical Effects of Cold Exposure
- 00:30:11 How Cold Should the Temperature Be?
- 00:34:53 Cold Showers vs. Cold Water Immersion
- 00:38:27 Protocols for Cold Exposure
- 00:50:57 Optimal Mindset(s) During Cold Exposure
- 00:55:26 Tool: Using Movement During Cold Exposure
- 00:57:51 Optimal Frequency of Cold Exposure
- 01:00:22 Cold Exposure for Dopamine, Mood & Focus
- 01:12:55 Cold Exposure & Metabolism, Brown Fat
- 01:25:55 Tool: Caffeine, Dopamine & Cold Exposure
- 01:29:14 Tools: Increasing Metabolism w/Cold – The Søberg Principle, Shivering
- 01:34:15 Norepinephrine & Fat Cells
- 01:36:22 Cold, Physical Performance, Inflammation
- 01:47:36 Hyperthermia & Glabrous Skin Cooling
- 01:53:27 Tool: Palmar Cooling & Endurance
- 02:03:18 Cold Exposure to Groin, Increasing Testosterone
- 02:07:50 Tool: Optimal Timing for Daily Cold Exposure
- 02:11:16 Neural Network Newsletter, Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify Review, Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Patreon, Thorne, Instagram, Twitter
The post Using Deliberate Cold Exposure for Health and Performance appeared first on Huberman Lab.
