BENEFITS OF SAUNAS AND COLD SHOWERS

By Stephanie Whitten

In our present world of convenience, we continually seek shortcuts to make our lives easier. Weight loss, health, and daily living are a few things that we want benefits from, but there is no easy pill to swallow to get the results we want. But, if you have done an internet search for help on any of those three, you may have come across the word Bio-hacking. Bio-hacking is a term used to find shortcuts for changing your body or health. Working with athletes and dealing with my own injuries, I had always known about ice and heat therapy– using heat on a stiff back, or submerging strained or pulled muscles in an ice bath. I had no idea those could be Biohacks for the entire body and not just the isolated area that was injured. I use the dry sauna before my work out for 10 minutes to get my muscles nice and warm and to recover from muscle soreness post-workout. The only time I have taken a cold shower was before getting in the pool and I absolutely hate it! Little did I know that saunas and cold showers are being used to Bio-hack the body for health benefits. I know a lot of people would ask themselves, why would I go into a room that is over 80 degrees or take a cold shower on purpose? Well, I said the same thing before I read a little information that got me started on the research. This article is going to share some of the great benefits that have been studied and I have experienced.

Sauna Benefits: • Helps with sleep • Relaxation • Muscle soreness

Cold Shower Benefits: • Wakes you up • Increases circulation • Reduces muscle soreness post-workout • Boosts weight loss to help

Brown Adipose Tissue burn

White Tissue

Those are some of the reasons I use a combination of both saunas and cold showers in my daily routine. I take a cold shower in the morning to wake me up and get me mentally prepared for my day. All health "hacks" have pros and cons, though, and there are risks: Sauna Risks: • Dehydration • Dizziness • Increased or lowered blood pressure • Lowered sperm count from heat Cold Shower Risks: • Anyone with heart disease should avoid cold showers: shock to the body from the cold could cause a heart attack or rhythm issues. Listing all of the scientific reasons why these benefits are true would make this article 4 pages, so I am just providing the first articles I read that sent me on my quest to find the benefits.. I also must mention the Wim Hof Method, as a lot of the research is being done because of his story. He has brought a lot of attention to cold therapy and breathing exercises. Reference: https://www.ncbi. nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC4049052/#ref80