Increasing Resilience
Our lifestyles are very different from the lifestyle that our ancestors used to live. Hundreds of years ago, humans were exposed to temperature extremes daily while working outside or walking to work. Hunters would have to run for short bursts at a time, hold their breath to stay quiet while hunting or even fast when food couldn’t be found. The comforts of our modern life allow us to stay safe, warm, and fed with little to no effort in most cases. Our bodies have lost the benefits of strong, hard physical activity, changes in environment, and other challenges that life used to present to us daily.
Stress is dose dependent. It is no secret that long term chronic stress drains the energy from the body and will take its toll on your health. Our body is designed to prioritize survival over other processes such as detoxification, reproduction (hormone health), regeneration (anti-aging and repair), or growth & development. If you are chronically under stress, your body will repeatedly put your hormonal health, cellular repair, and general healing on hold to keep pumping out the stress related hormones needed to “survive”. This will result in fertility issues, hormone imbalances, weight struggles, fatigue and energy crashes, immune system dysfunction, thyroid problems, etc.
Good Stress
Not all stressors are harmful. Hormesis is the idea that short, specific bursts of certain stressors can actually trigger cellular processes that enhance repair, energy production, anti-aging, and increase resilience. Exposing your body to “hormetic stressors”, such as cold therapy, can push your body out of its comfort zone and activate pathways that initiate cellular repair, detoxification, reduce inflammation, balances the immune system, improves metabolism and possibly even improve mitochondrial health!
What is Cold Exposure?
One of my favorite biohacks to improve energy, help balance the immune system and improve my sleep is taking a cold shower, also known as cold therapy, cold exposure or hypothermia treatments.
It sounds miserable, and counterintuitive, but research has shown that cold exposure for as little as 30 seconds at a time decreases inflammation, improves mental focus, promotes longevity and improves quality of sleep. This is an amazing, and free, biohack to improve multiple areas of your life with little effort!
The Cold Shower Formula
For a cold shower, you have 2 options:
- Start your shower with cold water for 30 seconds (or more) and then increase your temperature to a comfortable temperature and shower normally.
- Shower normally, and when you are finished, turn the temperature down as cold as possible, stand under the cold water for 30 seconds (or more).
The goal is to start at 30 seconds and then work up to 3-5 minutes as you tolerate it. This can be done daily, or as often as you remember, and it will be beneficial each time! Personally, I prefer to use method #2 (if I am showering in the morning) and do a cold exposure at the end of my shower. It gives me a burst of energy and wakes me right up for the day. On the other hand, I will start with cold exposure if I am showering in the evening, to avoid that burst of energy.
Cold Exposure Resources
I am a huge fan of The Wim Hof Method. This method of endurance and longevity uses breath-work and cold exposure to enhance human performance, health and longevity. Wim Hof, founder of the Wim Hof Method, is a well known proponent of cold exposure. Nicknamed “the iceman” after breaking a number of world records, Wim Hof is a Dutch extreme athlete that is known for climbing ice covered mountains in shorts, running a half marathon above the Arctic Circle barefoot, and for doing a cold plunge in ice water for over 112 minutes straight. There are many free resources available online (YouTube, blog, Instagram) outlining the details of the Wim Hof Method.
Cold exposure is just one example of a good stressor. Anything that temporarily pushes you out of your comfort zone can create positive effects and improve longevity. Other methods include high intensity interval training (HIIT), sauna/hyperthermia, breath work, hot yoga, fasting, completing a challenging mental task, etc. These methods can, and should in combination with each other as part of a daily wellness plan. These small stressors will increase your bodies resilience and improve your ability to adapt to stress, illness, and aging.
Cold Shower Challenge
Start your own #coldshowerchallenge today. Tag @root.cause.wellness on instagram!
Make a point to add 30 seconds or more of cold exposure to every shower you take for the next 10 days. Leave me a comment or shoot me a message with what you notice in your energy levels, sleep, focus, etc!
-Faith
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