#58 - Exercise in the cold: impacts on performance and health with Dr Mike Tipton
Aug 5, 2023
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Dr. Mike Tipton, an authority on exercise in extreme environments, discusses the causes and prevention of drowning in cold water, exercise in the cold, autonomic conflict during triathlons, and cold adaptations. He emphasizes the importance of translating research to the media and lifesaving organizations. Other topics explored include arm vs. leg exercise, physiological effects of cold water on muscles, and acclimation to cold.
Falling into cold water can trigger a rapid cardiorespiratory response known as cold shock, leading to uncontrollable breathing and the inhalation of water, emphasizing the importance of staying calm and maintaining an airway to increase chances of survival.
Exposure to cold water can result in autonomic conflict, where the simultaneous activation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems can lead to dangerous arrhythmias and cardiac problems, especially during open water swimming events with mass starts. Recognizing and preventing this conflict can help mitigate risks.
Swimming in cold water significantly impacts swim performance, reducing muscle function, coordination, and efficiency due to decreased enzyme activity, ATP utilization, and muscle perfusion. Understanding these effects is crucial for ensuring participant safety in open water swimming events.
Deep dives
Dangers of Falling into Cold Water
Falling into cold water can be highly dangerous, even for good swimmers. Many deaths occur in cold water due to a rapid cardiorespiratory response known as cold shock. The cold receptors in the skin stimulate the respiratory and cardiac centers, resulting in a gasp response, hyperventilation, increased heart rate, and blood pressure. This combination of responses can lead to uncontrollable breathing and the inhalation of water, which can be lethal. Even experienced swimmers can quickly become incapacitated when submerged in cold water, making it essential to stay calm and maintain an airway to increase chances of survival.
Autonomic Conflict in Cold Water Immersion
When exposed to cold water, individuals can experience autonomic conflict, where the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems simultaneously activate. This conflict can lead to dangerous arrhythmias and cardiac problems, especially when combined with extended breath holds or splashes of water on the face. The autonomic conflict is more likely to occur in open water swimming events with mass starts, where participants are more likely to experience heightened sympathetic activity and increased heart rate. Recognizing the symptoms and taking preventative measures, such as avoiding prolonged breath holds and minimizing close contact during starts, can help mitigate the risks.
Effects of Cold Water Immersion on Swimmers
Swimming in cold water can significantly impact swim performance, resulting in reduced muscle function, coordination, and efficiency. As the muscles cool, enzyme activity, ATP utilization, calcium uptake, and muscle perfusion decrease. Swimmers may experience a shift to anaerobic metabolism earlier, leading to increased oxygen consumption and lactic acid production. In extremely cold water, even elite swimmers can suffer from swim failure and lose physical capacity within minutes. Understanding these effects is crucial for organizers of open water swimming events to ensure participant safety.
Adaptations to Cold Water Swimming
Cold water swimmers, especially those with a combination of fitness and sufficient insulation, can adapt to swimming in colder temperatures. Increased body fat and physical fitness help maintain body heat and buoyancy. Over time, repeated exposure to cold water can lead to adaptations that enhance insulation and decrease blood flow to extremities. However, it is important to note that repeated exposure does not eliminate all risks, and quick adaptations may mask discomfort or symptoms of hypothermia, increasing the potential dangers.
The Importance of Lifestyle Changes for Health
The podcast emphasizes the significance of making lifestyle changes to improve health. Many illnesses, which are often preventable, stem from a sedentary lifestyle and a lack of perturbation to the body's physiological systems. The speaker highlights the need to address this issue as it has consequences for public health and the healthcare system. While there is already a global effort to promote physical activity, there is also a case for reintroducing exposure to temperature variations, exercise, and hunger to build resilience and promote overall well-being.
Cross-Adaptation and Its Benefits
The podcast discusses the concept of cross-adaptation and its potential benefits. Cross-adaptation refers to the idea that adapting to one stressor can enhance adaptability to another. The speaker explains that research has shown cross-adaptation between cold exposure and altitude, indicating that repeated cold exposures can improve performance at high altitudes. This finding suggests that cross-adaptation has broader implications for understanding how different stressors can work together to elicit physiological responses. The speaker emphasizes the need for further exploration of this area to uncover its full potential.
Dr Glenn McConell chats with Professor Mike Tipton from University of Portsmouth, England. He is an absolute authority on exercise in extreme environments. We talked initially about his important work examining the causes and prevention of drowning in cold water. Autonomic conflict and triathlon mass starts. We then discussed exercise in the cold and cold adaptations and cross adaptation between cold, heat, altitude etc. Smart to pre-cool and cool after exercise in the heat? Mike is very heavily involved with translating his research to the media and lifesaving organizations etc. Very interesting work and a fun chat. Twitter: @ProfMikeTipton
0:00. Introduction
1:55. Most drowning in cold water not due to hypothermia
3:57. Cardiorespiratory effects of falling into cold water. Cold shock
6:40. Gasp response and drowning
7:35. Stay as still as possible, “Float to live”
10:23. Cold and pain receptors
14:20. Rapid loss of heat from the arms in cold water
16:17. Mike heavily involved with translating his research
22:00. Best to keep clothes on if fall in cold water
25:08. Autonomic conflict, anger, breath holding
28:20. Triathlon mass starts and drowning, breath holding
37:10. Concurrent sympathetic and parasympathetic activation
40:04. Marathon swims and difficulties in cold water
42:15. Arm vs leg exercise and blood pressure
44:00. Physiological effects of cold water on muscle
48:40. Griffith Pugh re English Channel swims/climbing Everest
51:10. Acclimation to cold
53:40. We’ve become thermostatic: not perturbing our systems
58:00. Preparing athletes for exercise in the heat
1:00:10. Increased lifespan but not healthspan
1:02:25. Climate change and people that are thermostatic
1:03:40. Cross adaptation between cold, heat, altitude etc
1:10:03. Cold immersion and immunity
1:12:03. Smart to pre-cool and cool after exercise?
1:17:35. Consider the physiology of the body and think integratively
1:21:45. Non freezing cold injury
1:25:10. Consider the risks and the benefits of cold water immersion
1:26:15. Takeaway messages
1:28:10. Be careful where you get your information from
1:31:02. Outro (9 seconds)
Inside Exercise brings to you the who's who of research in exercise metabolism, exercise physiology and exercise’s effects on health. With scientific rigor, these researchers discuss popular exercise topics while providing practical strategies for all.
The interviewer, Emeritus Professor Glenn McConell, has an international research profile following 30 years of Exercise Metabolism research experience while at The University of Melbourne, Ball State University, Monash University, the University of Copenhagen and Victoria University.
He has published over 120 peer reviewed journal articles and recently edited an Exercise Metabolism eBook written by world experts on 17 different topics (https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-94305-9).
Connect with Inside Exercise and Glenn McConell at:
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LinkedIn: Glenn McConell https://www.linkedin.com/in/glenn-mcconell-83475460
ResearchGate: Glenn McConell
Email: glenn.mcconell@gmail.com
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Not medical advice
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