Dhru Purohit Show
The Insane Benefits of Cold and Hot Therapy on Mood, Energy, Metabolism and Brown Fat with Dr. Susanna Søberg
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- Cold exposure activates both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, leading to increased focus, energy, and mood improvement.
- Deliberate cold exposure helps widen stress threshold, increase stress tolerance, and boost overall stress resilience.
- Recent scientific research has rediscovered the effectiveness of deliberate cold exposure, which activates brown fat, improves insulin sensitivity, lowers blood pressure, and reduces inflammation.
- By activating brown fat through cold exposure, you can improve insulin sensitivity, increase calorie burning, and promote overall metabolic health.
- Cold exposure, such as winter swimming, activates brown fat, increases insulin sensitivity and metabolism, and has a positive impact on overall health and weight management.
- Both cold and heat exposure have numerous mental health benefits, with cold exposure activating neurotransmitters like dopamine, noradrenaline, endorphins, serotonin, and oxytocin for improved mood, increased energy, and reduced anxiety.
Deep dives
Benefits of Cold Exposure
Cold exposure has numerous short-term and long-term benefits. When you submerge yourself in cold water, it activates both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, leading to increased focus, energy, and mood improvement. Cold exposure can also improve insulin sensitivity, increase brown fat production, boost metabolism, and reduce the risk of heart disease. Additionally, it helps increase stress tolerance and widens the window for stress, which is beneficial in our modern sedentary lifestyle. Overall, cold exposure is a natural and effective way to improve health and optimize physical and mental performance.
The Power of Cold Immersion
Cold immersion, also known as winter swimming or cold exposure, provides a variety of short-term and long-term benefits. When you deliberately expose yourself to cold water, it activates the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, leading to the release of dopamine and norepinephrine, providing increased focus, energy, and mood enhancement. Deliberate cold exposure also helps widen your stress threshold, increase stress tolerance, and boost your overall stress resilience. Additionally, it can improve insulin sensitivity, promote brown fat activation and production, and increase overall metabolism. By incorporating cold immersion into your routine, you can experience a natural and energizing way to enhance your well-being.
Discovering the Benefits of Cold Exposure
Cold exposure, also known as cold therapy or winter swimming, has a rich history in human health and well-being. Ancient philosophers like Socrates and Hippocrates recognized the benefits of cold and heat exposure in improving our body's circulation, promoting health, and increasing resilience. However, due to societal changes and accidents like the Titanic sinking, cold exposure lost its prominence. Recent scientific research has rediscovered the effectiveness of deliberate cold exposure. Studies have shown that it activates brown fat, improves insulin sensitivity, lowers blood pressure, and reduces inflammation. By embracing the cold as a training center for our metabolism, we can tap into the natural benefits of cold exposure and optimize our health and performance.
The Role of Brown Fat in Cold Exposure
Brown fat is a beneficial type of fat that can be activated through cold exposure. Unlike white fat, which stores excess calories, brown fat increases metabolism and helps burn fat and glucose from the bloodstream. Activating brown fat through cold exposure helps improve insulin sensitivity, increase calorie burning, and promote overall metabolic health. It acts as a natural internal heat regulator, enhancing your body's ability to adapt to cold temperatures and providing numerous health benefits. By engaging in regular cold exposure, you train and strengthen your brown fat, allowing it to efficiently contribute to energy burning and regulate your body's temperature.
Cold exposure increases insulin sensitivity and metabolism
Cold exposure, such as winter swimming, activates brown fat and increases insulin sensitivity and metabolism. By submerging the body in cold water, the mitochondria in muscle cells increase, leading to a boost in metabolism and insulin sensitivity. Cold exposure also activates brown fat cells, which can have a positive impact on overall health and weight management.
Brown fat is located around the central nervous system
Brown fat depots are mainly located around the central nervous system. The largest depot is under the collarbones, but brown fat can also be found around the kidneys, the heart, the neck, and the armpits. This distribution suggests that brown fat may have evolved as a survival mechanism, as it is closely connected to the central nervous system and can quickly respond to temperature changes induced by the environment.
The benefits of cold exposure and heat on mental health
Cold exposure, such as winter swimming, and heat exposure, such as saunas, have numerous mental health benefits. Cold exposure activates neurotransmitters like dopamine, noradrenaline, endorphins, serotonin, and oxytocin, leading to improved mood, increased energy, and reduced anxiety. Heat exposure provides similar benefits by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting relaxation and stress reduction. Both cold and heat exposure have shown promising results in enhancing mental resilience and overall well-being.
Cold exposure in children and pregnant women
Cold exposure, such as winter swimming, can be safe for children as long as supervised by an adult. Children have more brown fat and can defend their core temperature. However, it is important to keep the exposure brief and ensure children warm up afterward. For pregnant women, limited research exists on the effects of cold exposure, so it is not recommended until more is known. It's best to focus on their overall health during pregnancy and consult with a healthcare professional.
Cold exposure improves cardiovascular health
Regular cold exposure, such as through cold showers or winter swimming, can improve cardiovascular health. Cold exposure enhances the function of blood vessels, promoting better circulation and oxygen delivery to the cells. Long-term observational studies have shown that individuals who engage in cold exposure, such as going into the sauna a few times a week, have a lower risk of premature death and cardiovascular diseases. It is important not to overdo cold exposure and to adhere to recommended time and temperature limits.
Brown fat activation and metabolism
Cold exposure can activate and increase the efficiency of brown fat cells. Brown fat is a type of fat that generates heat to warm the body and helps regulate temperature. By activating brown fat, cold exposure increases metabolism and thermogenesis, leading to benefits like improved fat loss and body composition. Studies have shown that even mild cold exposure, such as cold air temperature, can increase brown fat volume and activity. However, not everyone has the same amount of brown fat, and individual differences exist.
Potential mental health benefits and future directions
Cold exposure may have potential mental health benefits, as it decreases inflammation in the body, which is linked to neurological diseases like depression and anxiety. Further research is needed to explore the effects of cold exposure on mental health and the potential for cold exposure to be used as a therapeutic modality. More studies are also needed to investigate the relationship between cold exposure, weight loss, and body composition, as well as its potential application in treating various diseases.
This episode is brought to you by InsideTracker, Pendulum, and Levels.
Today on The Dhru Purohit Podcast, Dhru sits down with Dr. Susanna Søberg to talk about her groundbreaking research on deliberate cold exposure and brown fat metabolism. Dhru and Dr. Søberg discuss the benefits of cold exposure for supporting mental and metabolic health as well as enhancing mood and energy in the short and long term.
Dr. Susanna Søberg is one of the world’s leading researchers and experts in cold and heat therapy and functional breathing. She is also the founder of the Soeberg Institute. Dr. Søberg obtained her PhD in metabolism at the University of Copenhagen. Dr. Søberg is the author of the international bestseller Winter Swimming, which has been translated into 13 languages. Her new book, Thermalist, is available in Danish and hopefully soon in English.
In this episode, Dhru and Dr. Søberg dive into:
-The short-term benefits of cold therapy (3:07)
-How cold therapy boosts dopamine and norepinephrine levels for better mood and energy (6:14)
-The long-term benefits of cold therapy (20:42)
-The evolutionary history behind the benefits of cold exposure (23:59)
-Brown fat’s history and purpose and how to activate it (46:15)
-Cold exposure improves insulin sensitivity (58:18)
-Dr. Søberg’s research watching winter swimmers in Denmark (1:10:26)
-Psychological improvements for cold exposure (1:22:00)
-Minimal viable dose for the benefits of cold exposure (1:37:00)
-Cold showers and other means of cold exposure (1:39:14)
-The research on heat exposure (1:57:21)
-Future research on cold exposure (2:35:35)
Also mentioned in this episode:
-The Thermalist (in Danish)
-The Soeberg Institute’s course catalog (use code TRYTHIS for 10% off)
For more on Dr. Susanna Søberg, follow her on Instagram @susanna_soeberg, or through her website, https://www.soeberginstitute.com.
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