Can Cold Exposure Really Benefit Your Health?

Have you ever wondered why there’s so much buzz around cold water bathing, ice baths and low-temperature showers? While Wim Hof brought the benefits of cold exposure to a mainstream audience, in some countries cold water immersion has been practised for hundreds of years.

In this article, you’ll learn what happens when your body is exposed to cold – and how it can benefit your health.

What are the Benefits of Cold Exposure?

Many people who regularly practice cold exposure notice enhanced physical and mental health. Fewer infections, improved mental clarity, and better weight management have all been reported.

Exposure to cold stimulates your circulation. Although blood vessels constrict in cold temperatures, they dilate as you warm back up, promoting better blood flow. Even if you don’t particularly enjoy the cold, your body releases endorphins when the temperature drops. These help you better deal with stress.

Indeed, when your body senses extreme temperature, it experiences stress. Far from being negative, this type of stress can be beneficial because it helps your body manage stress more effectively in the future. It’s known as hermetic stress, with exercise being another example of this type of stress.

Finally, when you are exposed to the cold, a special type of fat in your body, known as brown fat, is activated. Brown fat is capable of boosting metabolism, increasing energy expenditure and potentially assisting weight management. Higher amounts of brown fat help with insulin sensitivity, too.

To have a look at this topic in a bit more detail, let’s introduce cold shock proteins.

What Are Cold Shock Proteins?

When your body senses a temperature change, cold shock proteins (CSPs) are released within your cells. They belong to a group of proteins that help your body respond to stress. Incidentally, your body produces heat shock proteins, too, when it senses an increase in temperature.

These proteins stabilise other proteins within your cells. They repair and protect cellular DNA from damage following a stressful event, in this case, the alteration in temperature. They also seem to be able to support antioxidants in their protective role (1).

In other words, cold shock proteins sheild your cells from the negative effects of stress, while helping repair stress-related damage. In this way, they help your body prepare for and react to future stressors.

Can Cold Shock Proteins Keep Cells Young?

Cold shock proteins appear to influence the ageing process. While shock protein production typically reduces with age, research suggests the shock proteins may reduce the risk of age-related chronic diseases such as Alzheimer’s (2). It’s believed they can help maintain connections between brain cells. At the same time, they assist the body’s natural self-cleaning process, known as autophagy.

Can Cold Shock Proteins Support the Immune System?

Cold shock proteins help support a healthy immune system. They have been found to regulate the production of those immune cells whose job it is to boost inflammation in response to stress or infection (3). Known as cytokines, they are an important part of your immune system’s protective response.

However, once the threat passes, inflammation should subside. If it remains elevated, it can contribute to a whole raft of chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, autoimmune issues, and even cancer. Therefore, these cytokines must be regulated by other immune cells to prevent inflammation persisting after it’s served its purpose. Research suggests cold shock proteins support this process, guarding against chronic inflammation (4), and protecting the immune system from stress-related damage.

Do Cold Shock Proteins Support Cardiovascular Health?

Meanwhile, other research has suggested cold shock proteins may improve cardiovascular health (5). This makes sense because unwanted inflammation is a major factor in cardiovascular disease.

Do Cold Shock Proteins Affect Hormones?

Cold exposure helps improve the body’s sensitivity to insulin, in so doing stabilising blood sugar (6). Steady blood glucose guards against obesity and chronic inflammation, while sustaining energy levels and protecting brain health.

Meanwhile, cold exposure can indirectly support thyroid health by influencing thyroid hormone release.

Science discovered cold shock proteins only relatively recently, and they probably have many other roles scientists are not yet aware of.

How to Boost Cold Shock Protein Production

It’s best to ease yourself into cold exposure gradually. Begin by finishing your hot shower by turning the temperature down to minimum for a short blast. Even splashing your face with cold water is a good start.

Cold-water swimming is more enjoyable and safer when done with others. You may find it hard at first, but your body will adapt to the cold over time.

Even simply sleeping in a cooler room can be beneficial. One study found reducing bedroom temperature to 19 degrees down from 24 degrees resulted in Improved insulin sensitivity, likely by increasing brown fat activity (7).

Help and Support on Your Health Journey

Supporting optimal functioning in your body can assist its natural healing processes and nurture health from the inside. No single lifestyle or nutritional strategy is a magic bullet to health: an integrated approach supporting both body and mind will deliver optimal results.

If you’re wondering where to start, our Integrative Health Assessment takes a deep dive into your health goals. A full case history will establish not only how you arrived at your current health picture but will determine the blend of approaches most beneficial for you. We can recommend functional tests, if appropriate for you, to discover what is happening inside your body to cause your adverse symptoms. These are available as standalone tests or with full practitioner support – the choice is yours.

Start your journey today towards lasting wellness.