The Case for Cold and Hot Therapy
I'm one of those who can't sleep if it's too hot, and at times heat has brought out that part of my personality that may err on the crankier side (the cranky race is probably tied between heat and code-red hunger). I do love summer, but I am extremely grateful for air conditioning. I listened to a podcast about four months ago, and the interviewee was Wim Hof, aka "the Iceman." Some of his amazing feats include standing in a container filled with ice cubes for 112 minutes, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in shorts, and swimming 198 feet underneath the ice. Wim touts the benefits of extreme cold therapy (cryotherapy) as a tool for transformation and wellness. I started doing some more research on cryotherapy and found some interesting studies and evidence supporting its benefits. Cold Therapy The case for cold involves the body doing the following: increasing its circulation (asking the circulatory system to work harder and more efficiently) breathing deeper t