So far I have blogged about the health benefits of going hungry and sitting in a very hot box. Now I am going to discuss cold immersion with you.
Using cold to boost your immune system seems counter intuitive, but in fact if used correctly it can be highly beneficial.
Cold therapy has a positive impact on both the brain and the body. For the brain it can increase focus and mood. This is because it increases the amount of nor-epinephrine significantly.
For the body cold immersions can dramatically increase your metabolism. If you are one of those people who put on weight as soon as you even look at a pizza you might have a slow metabolism. This means the number of calories you are burning daily is low, so if you eat the government prescribed 2000 calories you will be in a large surplus and therefore put on weight. Cold immersion causes a physiological change in the body to produce more mitochondria which turns standard white fat into highly energy consuming brown fat. Brown fat needs more energy to function, therefore the more brown fat you have the more energy your body consumes so the less calories get put into storage!!
The final point on cold immersion is its major benefits on recovery after exercise. Using hot and cold immersion is a great way to aid the body in its healing process post primal fitness class or personal training. It helps draw by products into the bloodstream to be carried away and promotes blood flow to help bring much needed nutrients to the muscles.
This guy is the top man when it comes to cold immersion. His ted talk is well worth a watch…..
>>>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9Cgaa8U4eY<<<<
To get started just have a cold shower or run a cold bath and fill with some ice cubes. Make sure you keep breathing and try to relax!! Good luck.
Thanks For Reading!!!
Liam
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18461718)