Using Cold Part 2

Last time we talked about all the positive effects cold exposure has on the mind, this time, it is all about the body. 

While you are in cold exposure, the body burns more calories to increase core body temperature. But, that number of calories is not very significant. What is significant is with increased cold exposure, the body turns white fat into brown fat. Brown fat has significant health benefits since it is more metabolically active. It allows people to become more cold tolerant/adapted. It also triggers increases in overall metabolism leading to more calories being burned over all. This action of increasing brown fat being burned for heat can be increased with what is now being called the Søeberg Principle. This is named after Dr. Susanna Søeberg, the leading researcher who discovered it. The principle states that if you want to increase the metabolic effects of cold, you need to force the body to reheat on its own. Thus, during cold exposure, you want to allow your body to start shivering. You also don’t want to cross your arms or legs which lead to you retaining heat. After you end your cold exposure, you don’t want to towel off or take a warm shower. You want to let your body naturally air dry and warm up on its own. This will greatly increase the metabolic effects of your cold exposure therapy. 

Cold exposure therapy can also greatly help with recovery from physical exertion. However, this is where you need to be very intentional with what your training goals are. Cold exposure following high intensity interval training has been shown to be a highly effective recovery tool. It has positive outcomes for muscle soreness, muscle power and perceived recovery. There is, however, a caveat. Cold exposure can limit gains made in the categories of hypertrophy (growing bigger muscles), strength or endurance when done within 4 hours of a training session. That being said, if you are training for one of those goals, you still can benefit from cold exposure, you would just want to wait 6-8 hours after your training session. 

So, now that you have decided that you want to start doing cold exposure therapy, the questions become how much, how often, and when should you do it. Ideally, we want to accumulate about 11 minutes of cold exposure per WEEK, not per session. This can be split up in any way you like throughout the week. You then want to put it as far away from your bedtime as you can. This is because some of the chemicals released like epinephrine (adrenaline) will make it harder to fall asleep. Some people do not have an issue with doing cold exposure close to their bedtime, and some do. So always be conscious of the choice you are making and evaluate how you feel. 

The science surrounding cold exposure is a rapidly growing field and will continue to be updated and perfected. Here at Lakeshore Chiropractic we strive to be accurate with the information we present but by no means are completely exhaustive of the entire body of literature. 

Søberg, Susanna, et al. “Altered Brown Fat Thermoregulation and Enhanced Cold-Induced Thermogenesis in Young, Healthy, Winter-Swimming Men.” Cell Reports Medicine, vol. 2, no. 10, 2021, p. 100408., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2021.100408. 

Mills, E.L., Pierce, K.A., Jedrychowski, M.P. et al. Accumulation of succinate controls activation of adipose tissue thermogenesis. Nature 560, 102–106 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0353-2