The Proof with Simon Hill Science of ice baths, brown fat and metabolism | Susanna Soeberg, PhD
02:54:46
Susanna’s Cold Water Journey
- Dr. Susanna Søberg was initially averse to cold exposure but became a winter swimmer during her research.
- Overcoming her fear increased her confidence and helped her handle stress better.
The Body’s Cold Alert System
- Cold triggers 10 times more cold receptors than heat receptors in our skin for survival.
- Cold exposure activates noradrenaline, boosting alertness and metabolic fuel release for heat.
Brown Fat Boosts Heat Efficiency
- Brown fat activation increases heat production and efficiency with repeated cold exposure.
- Adapted individuals keep core temperature stable by restricting blood flow at the skin surface.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app 1 chevron_right 2 chevron_right 3 chevron_right 4 chevron_right 5 chevron_right 6 chevron_right 7 chevron_right 8 chevron_right 9 chevron_right 10 chevron_right 11 chevron_right 12 chevron_right 13 chevron_right 14 chevron_right 15 chevron_right 16 chevron_right 17 chevron_right 18 chevron_right 19 chevron_right 20 chevron_right 21 chevron_right 22 chevron_right 23 chevron_right 24 chevron_right 25 chevron_right 26 chevron_right 27 chevron_right 28 chevron_right 29 chevron_right 30 chevron_right 31 chevron_right 32 chevron_right 33 chevron_right 34 chevron_right 35 chevron_right 36 chevron_right 37 chevron_right 38 chevron_right 39 chevron_right 40 chevron_right 41 chevron_right 42 chevron_right 43 chevron_right 44 chevron_right 45 chevron_right 46 chevron_right 47 chevron_right 48 chevron_right 49 chevron_right 50 chevron_right 51 chevron_right 52 chevron_right 53 chevron_right 54 chevron_right 55 chevron_right 56 chevron_right 57 chevron_right 58 chevron_right 59 chevron_right 60 chevron_right 61 chevron_right 62 chevron_right 63 chevron_right
Introduction
00:00 • 2min
How Cold and Hot Exposure Affects Human Health
01:55 • 2min
What's the Follow-Up to Winter Swimming?
03:30 • 2min
Is There an Appetite for Winter Swimming?
05:48 • 3min
The Winter Swimming Culture in Denmark?
08:25 • 2min
The Effect of Winter Swimming on Physiology
10:24 • 5min
How to Sleep in a Very Cold Room
15:20 • 3min
Is There a Pin in Brown Fat?
17:51 • 2min
Is There a Good Reason Not to Do This?
20:20 • 2min
The Culture of Winter Swimming
22:07 • 2min
Do You Have a Fear of Going Down in the Dark Water?
24:25 • 2min
Cold Water Immersion and Sauna Heat Exposure
26:36 • 3min
Cold Water Immersion Could Be the Future of Preventive Medicine
29:30 • 2min
Do You Have a Hermetic Stress Protocol?
31:53 • 2min
Is There a Growing Trend to Deliberate Cold Exposure?
34:21 • 4min
Cold Water Immersion and Unregulated High Blood Pressure
38:42 • 2min
What's Happening in the Cold Water?
40:28 • 2min
Activation of the Sympathetic Nervous System
42:07 • 2min
How Does the Cold Water Change the Physiology of the Body?
43:41 • 3min
How Do You Get Afadapted to Cold Water?
47:07 • 2min
The Brown Fat Cell Is Very Different From White Fat
48:48 • 3min
Is There a Test That Can Quantify How Much Brown Fat I Have?
52:02 • 4min
Can You Transform Your Brown Fat?
56:24 • 2min
How Can We Grow More Brown Fat?
58:22 • 2min
The Benefits of Activating the Brown Fat in the Cold
59:55 • 4min
Type 2 Diabetes - Is There a Cohort Study?
01:04:06 • 2min
Sauna Betters and Cardiovascular Diseases
01:06:25 • 3min
Do You Know How Many Minutes Per Session Is Best?
01:08:55 • 2min
How Much Sauna Do You Need to Do a Week?
01:10:55 • 2min
Heat Stress and Cold Stress Are Acting Differently
01:13:14 • 3min
How Does Cold Water Increase Your Metabolism?
01:15:57 • 3min
How Much Do You Burn From One Minute, Two Minutes, Three Minutes?
01:18:35 • 2min
How to Increase Non-Shivering Thermogenesis
01:20:33 • 3min
How to Get the Most Out of Your Winter Swimming
01:23:16 • 2min
How to Reduce the After Drop in Your Core Temperature
01:25:16 • 2min
Do You Have to Change the Temperature to Keep Your Cells Younger?
01:27:44 • 5min
Train Your Temperature Sensitivities and Keep Your Brown Fat Alive
01:32:19 • 2min
Increasing the Efficiency of Your Brown Fat
01:34:18 • 4min
Women Have More Brown Fat Than Men
01:38:03 • 4min
Is It 22 Degrees Celsius in Room?
01:42:23 • 2min
How Does Deliberate Cold Exposure Affect Your Immune System?
01:44:17 • 6min
The Importance of Cold Showers in Training and Bodybuilding
01:50:10 • 3min
Is Ice Exposure Good for Hypertrophy?
01:53:33 • 3min
The Cold Shower Before Bed
01:57:01 • 2min
Dopamine and No Adrenaline Increase in the Cold Water and It Helps Your Mental Balance
01:59:01 • 4min
Dopamine and Oxytocin Increases in the Cold Water
02:03:02 • 2min
Dopamine Noradrenaline Oxytocin Is Increased in Cold Water?
02:05:09 • 3min
Can Cold Water Swimming Really Cure Depression or Anxiety?
02:07:42 • 2min
Cold Water Therapy for Alzheimer's Disease
02:09:15 • 5min
How to Control Your Nervous System the First Time
02:14:14 • 3min
The Cold Water Is Not a Competition
02:17:32 • 2min
Is It Important That You Work Your Way Up to 11 Minutes Per Week?
02:19:19 • 3min
How Much Do You Do?
02:22:14 • 4min
Do You Have a Swimsuit On?
02:25:53 • 3min
The Disappearing Penis
02:28:28 • 2min
Change the Temperature Over Time
02:30:22 • 2min
Is There a Difference Between Men and Women on Winter Swimming?
02:32:20 • 3min
Sauna
02:35:43 • 2min
Is There a Myth About Head Dunking in an Ice Plunge?
02:37:33 • 6min
Baptism by Fire Is Your First Dip in the Cold Water
02:43:20 • 2min
Eyes at Eye Level
02:45:24 • 2min
I'd Love to Be a Viking So Tell Me About Reaching Viking Status
02:47:16 • 2min
Thermolist - Book Release in Danish
02:49:43 • 2min
Episode #250. Ice baths and other forms of cold water exposure have gained a huge amount of traction in the past few years. I’m joined by expert Dr Susanna Søberg to examine what the science says – is cold water exposure safe? What does the research say about the bold health claims? Is brown fat just a buzzword? How do you safely and effectively implement hot and cold exposure into your life? Dr Søberg answers these questions and many more in this three-hour deep dive into cold water immersion.
Specifically, we discuss:
- Intro (00:00)
- The tradition of winter swimming (01:52)
- Cold water swimming and activating brown fat (09:44)
- Dr. Søburg's personal experience with cold water bathing (23:13)
- Funding hurdles and potential benefits of cold water immersion (25:34)
- Cold water immersion and the body's response (33:36)
- Brown fat activation and more physiological responses (40:45)
- What is brown fat? (45:54)
- Is brown fat genetic? (55:28)
- Benefits of activating brown fat (58:32)
- Winter swimming, sauna, and disease: what the data says (1:01:10)
- Metabolism and shivering (1:13:01)
- Brown fat activation and muscle building (1:25:06)
- Who has more brown fat: Women or Men? (1:36:33)
- Chronic inflammation, exercise, and more benefits of deliberate cold exposure (1:46:11)
- Cold water immersion for beginners (2:06:18)
- The minimum threshold for health benefits using cold and heat (2:15:03)
- Clothes or no clothes? (2:22:57)
- Temperature regulation and gender differences (2:26:30)
- Safety protocols & understanding ice plunging lingo (2:34:08)
- Outro (2:47:18)
To connect with Dr Susanna Søberg, you can find her on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and LinkedIn. Head to her website, www.soeberginstitute.com, to learn more about Dr Søberg’s work – including her research and her book Winter Swimming. Friends of The Proof can also receive a 10% discount on her Thermalist course with code SIMONHILL.
Discover more insights and supporting resources in the full show notes.
Enjoy, friends.
Simon
Want to support the show?
The best way to support the show is to use the products and services offered by our sponsors. To check them out, and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends. You can also show your support by leaving a review on the Apple Podcast app and/or sharing your favourite episodes with your friends and family.
Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons)
Creator of theproof.com and host of The Proof with Simon Hill
Author of The Proof is in the Plants
Watch the episodes on YouTube or listen on Apple/Spotify
Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
Nourish your gut with my Plant-Based Ferments Guide
Download my complimentary two-week meal plan and high protein Plant Performance recipe book