The Cold Effect: Physiology and Performance

This chapter explores the physiological responses of the body to cold exposure, particularly the effects of vasoconstriction and temperature regulation. It discusses how cold baths or showers influence athletic performance by delaying body temperature rise, enhancing stamina, and influencing competitive strategies among different athletes. Additionally, the chapter examines the evolutionary implications of body temperature regulation during physical activities and its impact on performance outcomes.

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This episode I am joined by Dr. Craig Heller, Ph.D., Professor of Biology at Stanford University and world expert on the science of temperature regulation. We discuss how the body and brain maintain temperature under different conditions and how most everyone uses the wrong approach to cool off or heat up. Dr. Heller teaches us the best ways and in doing so, explains how to offset hyperthermia and hypothermia. He also explains how we can use the precise timing and location of cooling on our body to greatly enhance endurance and weight training performance. He describes how cooling technology discovered and engineered in his laboratory has led to a tripling of anaerobic (weight training) performance and allowed endurance athletes to run further and faster, as well as to eliminate delayed onset muscle soreness. Dr. Heller explains how heat impairs muscular and mental performance, and how to cool the brain to reduce inflammation and to enhance sleep and cognition. We discuss how anyone can apply these principles for themselves, even their dogs! Our conversation includes both many practical tools and mechanistic science.

Read the full show notes for this episode at hubermanlab.com.