Heat and Cold Exposure

By: Bradley Binversie

I’ve been following some of the health and longevity studies around heat and cold exposure. I don’t claim to be an expert on it, but the science seems to be quite compelling and worth keeping an eye on it.

1. The temperature exposure stresses the body which activates different pathways. A good analogy to this is when we stress our muscles, they tear, and grow stronger. The body and our cells seem to do the same.

2. Blood Flow- Much of our health revolves our bodies’ ability to transport nutrients throughout our body to the different cells. As we age our small blood vessels called capillaries tend not to function as well. This is important because our capillaries are where nutrients travel across the cell membranes delivering oxygen and nutrients while removing waste from our cells. If our cells cannot access the nutrients they need and remove the waste, they wither and die. There seems to be some indication that heat and cold exposure can help with this.

3. Heat Exposure causes the heart to beat faster and when done after a workout, can add a high metabolic caloric burn. The heart does this to try to circulate the blood to cool the body. In Scandinavian countries, sauna use is a normal part of life and seems to have positive health implications.

Don’t try anything reckless, but I would encourage reading into these subjects as more and more research is emerging.