Hot and Cold: The Latest Temperature Trends That Promise to Enhance Your Health

Maybe your household is like this. One person is always hot. The other is always cold. The battles over the thermostat never end.

When you’re always freezing, it could sound counterintuitive to jump into a vat of ice water. If you’re always on the verge of breaking out into a sweat, putting yourself into a little enclosed room with temps in the 140s with a red light beaming down on you can sound like your own personal brand of punishment. So why is it that hot and cold therapy have taken the fitness and wellness conversations by storm?

The Hot of It

Across centuries and cultures, saunas and hot baths have been the standard. From northern Europe to ancient Japan and beyond, people found a way to heat things up. Archeologists have found examples of saunas in caves.1 Areas with natural hot springs have long been gathering spots for a soak. These experiences were shared by the community. They forged bonds, they were a welcome oasis of warmth in cold climates. And, as science is learning, the sauna experience also offers multiple health advantages.

Repair those muscles: Heat can help muscles relax and repair. Research shows that hitting a sauna session after a tough workout can reduce muscle soreness by 47%.2

Detoxify your body: The heat from a sauna almost doubles your blood flow, which means that the waste products in your body, from oxidative stress to other toxins your kidneys work to clear, can be eliminated from the body more quickly.3 And all that sweat you experience in the heat? It’s a great cleansing system for your skin.

Love your heart in the heat: Your cardiovascular health can improve when using a sauna. A Mayo Clinic study showed that some time in the heat can help with a variety of heart functions, such as dilation of blood vessels, the lowering of blood pressure, and more.4 (As with any approach to fitness, diet, and health protocols, check with your care provider. If you’re an Altrua HealthShare Member on certain memberships, you have a pooled allotment of wellness visits and you also have access to telemedicine visits for questions about your health and fitness. If you’re not currently an Altrua HealthShare Member or if you have questions about what your membership shares in, contact a Member Services Representative at 1.877.523.3096.)

Burn those calories: It’s true! Sitting in the heat can burn calories just as if you were taking a moderate intensity walk!5 While the number of calories burned is specific to someone’s weight and height ratio, and while you won’t burn as many calories as an extended intense workout, there’s something to be said for burning some fat while sitting still.

The Reds Have It

Some sauna experiences include red light therapy, also known as RLT or infrared light therapy. RLT is also available in mats, masks, and other devices. There are plenty of claims about how RLT can help with skin conditions, muscle repair, collagen development, and more, research is beginning to follow. RLT was actually first used in the early space race as a possible way to help astronauts heal wounds.6 While more research is needed about the effectiveness of RLT, a 2018 study showed plenty of potential benefits to skin and muscle issues with no known side effects.7

Get Your Ice On

On the other side of the temperature spectrum is cold therapy. Maybe you’ve seen it, your favorite social media influencer adding a trough of ice water to their back porch, plunging themselves into the icy depths and declaring how good it feels. That seems kind of hard to believe, right? Stepping into a cold plunge takes a whole different kind of resolve than stepping into a cozy, warm sauna. But the enthusiasts cite how much better they feel, how invigorated and awake it makes them for the day. Even just tossing that temp to the cold side before you get out of your morning shower can give you some of the same effect. On the technical side, cold therapy should be at 50 degrees F or lower.

Build That Immunity: Those who use cold exposure say that their immune systems are stronger for it. The research is still out, but the logic makes sense. Older studies indicate that immune properties can be slightly increased by cold exposure.8 Newer research is likely needed to get a better picture on today’s cold plunge therapies and their impact on the immune system.

Cold Body, Clear Head: While the research jury is still out, taking the icy plunge does seem to clear your mind. Mayo Clinic’s sports medicine and emergency physician Dr. Kristi Colbenson explains that, “In the short-term, cold plunges can increase levels of dopamine and endorphins, which can contribute to a feeling of euphoria and heightened clarity or focus immediately afterwards.”9

The Combo Pack

So what happens when you combine all three of these, the hot exposure, the RLT, and the cold plunge? You may find that your recovery times from hard workouts are shorter and that you’re able to accelerate your recovery with injuries. You’ll build a level of mental toughness by exposing yourself to less-than-comfortable environments. You may also get a nice boost to your metabolism, as your body works to accommodate the jump from hot to cold and back again. While there is more research to be done on each of these wellness approaches, there’s no doubt that if you’re interested in increasing your wellness and fitness, these therapies are going to cross your radar. After checking with your care provider, you might try giving them a whirl. Shiver and sweat, sweat and shiver. Your muscles, skin, immune system just might thank you for it.

1 https://medium.com/estoniansaunas/heres-why-the-history-of-the-sauna-is-deeper-than-you-might-think-d8e5127a8232#:~:text=The%20first%20saunas%20were%20man,water%20was%20poured%20on%20them.
2 https://www.virginactive.com.au/blog/articles/should-you-use-the-sauna-before-or-after-your-workout#:~:text=Since%20the%20heat%20helps%20your,just%2024%20hours%20post%2Dexercise.
3 https://neptunesaunas.com/blog/health-benefits-sauna-after-workout/#:~:text=When%20you%20expose,up%20your%20recovery.
4 https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(18)30275-1/fulltext#:~:text=Beyond%20pleasure%20and,diseases%20and%20headache.
5 https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(18)30275-1/fulltext#:~:text=The%20physiological%20responses%20produced%20by%20an%20ordinary%20sauna%20bath%20correspond%20to%20those%20produced%20by%20moderate%2D%20or%20high%2Dintensity%20physical%20activity%20such%20as%20walking.
6 https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22114-red-light-therapy#:~:text=NASA%20(National%20Aeronautics%20and%20Space%20Administration)%20originally%20began%20experimenting%20with%20red%20light%20therapy%20on%20plant%20growth%20in%20space%20and%20then%20to%20help%20heal%20wounds%20in%20astronauts.%20Like%20many%20developments%2C%20other%20potential%20uses%20began%20to%20be%20investigated.
7 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6091542/
8 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8925815/
9 https://www.today.com/health/cold-plunge-benefits-rcna91148#:~:text=In%20the%20short%2Dterm%2C%20cold%20plunges%20can%20increase%20levels%20of%20dopamine%20and%20endorphins%2C%20says%20Colbenson%2C%20which%20can%20contribute%20to%20a%20feeling%20of%20euphoria%20and%20heightened%20clarity%20or%20focus%20immediately%20afterwards.