Lifestyle Factors for Good Health: Diet, Exercise, Sleep, Stress, and . . . Thermoregulation
Lifestyle Factors for Good Health: Diet, Exercise, Sleep, Stress, and . . .
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s. The slower pace, time off of work, and general feeling of ease and relaxation that comes with the time between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day are incredible rejuvenators for everyone leading into a fresh calendar year.
I want to thank all of our clients for their patience and understanding as we closed the gyms for a few days around the holidays, allowing Evan, Alyx, and I to enjoy quality time with our friends and families.
One of my favorite Christmas gifts this year was a stainless steel, Tartar brand water trough, six feet long, 2 feet wide and 2 feet tall. They are mainly used on farms to hold water for pigs, cows, and other animals. I got one for my health. I’ll explain why soon.
When doctors, trainers, therapists, and other health professionals talk about lifestyle factors for good health, 99% of the information is about diet, exercise, sleep, or stress. But there are other factors that are also very important for good health, such as temperature regulation, or thermoregulation.
We live most of our lives in extreme comfort, especially when it comes to ambient temperature and body temperature, the majority of time spent in a thermoneutral zone where we can regulate our body temperature with very little effort. We have AC in the summers to keep us cool and heaters in the winters to keep us warm - we can basically stay at the same temperature, for most people 70-72 degrees, all year without really experiencing much discomfort, aside from walking from the house to the car, where we also have AC and heat.
However, living in the same temperature, constantly, may have a negative effect on your health. Our bodies are pretty good at regulating our core body temperature - we sweat to cool off and shiver to warm up - and when we don’t exercise those abilities, we are depriving our bodies of a natural, healthy challenge (dealing with hot and cold weather) that we have endured for all of human evolution, up until a few decades ago. There are lots of health reasons why we should continue to expose ourselves to uncomfortable temperatures every once in awhile, even though we have the modern conveniences of AC and furnaces.
For example, sweating in response to warm temperatures helps cool the body, and it also expels toxins and other harmful substances from our bodies. So we should probably sweat every once in awhile, even if it makes us uncomfortable.
And cold exposure, such as a cold shower or ice bath, may speed up your metabolism, improve circulation, and more. This 2015 study from the Netherlands found that people with Type II diabetes exposed to mildly cold temperature (about 58 degrees) indoors for six hours a day for just ten days improved glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity by over 40%!
Using cold and heat for good health is nothing new, we’ve just forgotten about it. Cold and heat therapies have been widely used for thousands of years around the world to promote good health, improve healing, decrease pain, and more. The ancient Greeks used hot and cold baths for healing and restoration. And the word “sauna” is actually a Finnish word, and there are written records of saunas in Finland dating back almost 1000 years ago.
In the US, a “spa” used to be a place where you would use hot and cold, often mineral-rich, pools of water for therapeutic and health purposes, such as the West Baden spa in French Lick, or even here in my hometown of Martinsville. Nowadays, however, the word “spa” most often refers to a place where you can get manicures, pedicures, and other cosmetic treatments. Hot and cold water spas are still incredibly popular in most other parts of the world outside of the US.
It’s winter, so let’s talk about practical strategies for increasing your cold exposure:
End your showers with 20-30 seconds of cold water. Start with water just on your lower body the first few times as the whole body can be quite a shock!
Stand outside barefoot for a minute or two. This works best when there is snow on the ground.
Fill your tub up with cold water (and add ice if you want) and stand for a few minutes.
Try running your normal errands around town without your normal amount of clothing and jackets - wear a lighter jacket or go without gloves if you normally do.
Let the temperature in your house drop just past the point of discomfort for a few hours each week in the winters.
And if you are crazy, you can do what I do . . . Remember the water trough I mentioned at the beginning? I use it for cold water plunges. Sometimes I go out in the mornings and jump in and jump out. Other times I’ll do a handful of one-minute sessions, with several minutes in between to warm up.
Whatever you choose, I urge you to expose your body to cold, uncomfortable temperatures a few times a week for 2-3 weeks and see how you feel. I can’t guarantee anything, but I bet that your joints will feel better, you’ll sleep better, and your overall energy levels will be up.
- Shane
Disclaimer: this is not medical advice. Consult with your physician before trying any cold or heat therapies.