Want to do something that will freak out your friends and relatives? Take cold showers and ice baths. Here’s the thing, there is a growing school of thought that cold exposure is good for you. Cold exposure along with heat exposure (saunas), intermittent fasting and exercise are different aspects of the concept of hormesis. Simply defined, hormesis is a biological phenomenon where by benefits are derived by inducing measured amount of stress on the body. In so doing, the body compensates in a positive way in its attempt at returning to homeostasis.
One of the biggest proponents of this is Wim Hof, aka the Iceman. Hof has made a name for himself by pursuing extreme sports records in cold exposure. Among his accomplishments, he has: swam underneath ice for over 60 meters, climbed some of the highest mountains in the world wearing only shorts, run half marathons above the Arctic Circle, barefoot, stood in a box filled with ice for over 100 minutes. Don’t believe it? There is a ton of Wim Hof videos on Youtube. Check it out. Or, you can go to his website: wimhofmethod.com to check him out. The site also lists numerous benefits to his lifestyle.
On the opposite end of environmental stressors is heat exposure, like that which is produced by saunas. Modern sauna usage for health benefits has grown in popularity since World War II. Internet star, podcaster and researcher Dr. Rhonda Patrick has some of the best information on sauna benefits at her website: foundmyfitness.com
One thing to keep in mind. Our ancestors lived before air-conditioning, refrigerators and other modern luxuries. Their bodies experienced stress almost on a daily basis, whether it be from hunger, the weather or from physical exertion to survive. These stressors killed many people, but those that survived benefitted biologically from the experience. Think, survival of the fittest. The ability to survive stressful environmental conditions have been sown into our DNA.
Our modern lifestyle makes it so that our bodies might never have to deal with difficult environmental conditions. At first this sounds like it would be a good thing. The problem is that our bodies were designed to not only be able to handle a certain amount of stress but also to gain benefit from the stress. To maintain these derived benefits, modern man has to actually seek out stressors such as cold, heat or hunger. Doesn’t seem fun, but trust me, taking a cold shower every morning or a sauna every day is addictive.
