Cryotherapy is quickly becoming a leading wellness and recovery routine used by millions around the world. As popular culture and increased availability of cryo increase awareness, many people are aware of it but still unsure exactly what it is, and understandably a little cautious to try it out. It is important to understand the different forms of cryotherapy and which type you should try!
Whole Body Cryotherapy is the brief exposure to ultra low air temperatures in a fully enclosed, insulated room or chamber with the intention of activating the body’s natural response to extreme cold in a convenient way. While this sounds painful, it is much more comfortable than a cold plunge or even a cold shower. This is because whole body cryo uses hyper cooled, oxygenated air rather than a fluid such as water to cool the body. Air has a much lower insulating factor than water, so your body gets the great benefits of cold without the pain of being covered in water. For best results, cryotherapy should be experienced in a fully enclosed, electric cryotherapy room with your head inside and exposed to the cold.
Why does it feel so good?!
When you step in the whole body cryo chamber, the cold receptors in your skin send a fight or flight signal to your brain. Your brain quickly releases a chemical called norepinephrine which is a cold shock protein that regulates endorphins such as dopamine and adrenaline. This is the body’s natural reaction to allow you mental clarity and strength to get through a potentially difficult situation. These chemicals instantly cause you to overcome the initial cold shock and give you confidence that you can get through the session. In nature, this is the body’s way of giving you additional time, energy, and mental clarity to get out of a snow storm or danger. Bonus, the endorphins last for hours after the session so you walk away feeling great and may experience elevated mood for several hours. Your body will also produce excess melatonin in response to high endorphin release and many experience vastly improved sleep the night after doing cryotherapy.
Why is it so beneficial?
In addition to elevated mood, increased energy levels, and better sleep, there is a lot more
that is happening in your body when doing cryotherapy. As part of your body’s natural response to cold, blood rushes from your extremities to your core to protect your vital organs by keeping them warm. This process is called vasoconstriction and vasodilation which
will regulate the size and flow of blood throughout your body. During vasoconstriction (while inside the cryo chamber), blood vessels will constrict and direct blood to specific parts of your body and thus lower blood pressure. After the cryo session, vasodilation will expand blood vessels to allow increased flow of freshly oxygenated blood throughout the body, bringing with it an army of new white blood cells. White blood cells are referred to as “soldier cells” due to their ability to fight off viruses and improving your overall immune system. This new supercharged blood will also help to heal muscles and reduce overall inflammation throughout the body.
But wait, there’s more!
Hard to believe there are even more benefits but its true! During cryotherapy, your body will also release the antioxidant, glutathione. Glutathione is known as a “master antioxidant” and breaks down toxins in your body. Toxins enter your body through outside forces such as the sun, pollution, poor diet, and stress. Stress, such as working out can break down cells and cause exhaustion. This type of stress is why we feel tired during and after workouts. Glutathione helps to repair damaged cells from such stress and limits/reverses the negative effects of stress toxins, resulting in an energy boost during exercise, sustained energy, increased stamina & endurance, and reduced exhaustion. Glutathione also fights against other toxins in the body such as toxins from sun, pollution, junk food, stress, and lack of sleep amount others.
Will it help me lose weight?
There are many claims of several hundred calories being burnt during a cryotherapy session. The truth is, everything we do, we burn calories and caloric burn results from cryotherapy will vary by person. The process of thermoregulation (your body doing work to maintain homeostasis, i.e. vasoconstriction/dilation) certainly burns calories from working to keep your body warm in extreme low temps. In addition to thermoregulation burning calories, extreme cold exposure promotes brown fat cell production. Brown fat cells are actually mitochondria packed cells that burn energy and reduce white fat cells to stay warm. We are all born with high levels of brown fat cells but they reduce as we age (hence why kids have amazing metabolism yet its more difficult to lose weight as we age). Extreme cold exposure such as cryotherapy is one of the only known ways to increase brown fat cells as we age and is a great way to keep your metabolism strong!
Simply put, cryotherapy is the Ultimate Biohack and should be a go to routine for anyone looking to improve their overall health and wellness. Cryotherapy is an intense experience and while safe for most people, anyone with health concerns should consult with a doctor before trying it. For best results, cryotherapy is recommended as an ongoing routine 3-5x/week or more and should not be viewed as a magic fix all after one session.
Author - Marcus Wilson, CEO CryoBuilt
CryoBuilt is the leader in cryotherapy and has developed the most innovative full body cryotherapy system that uses only electricity and naturally cooled, super oxygenated air to provide a comfortable, exhilarating cryotherapy experience. The EVEREST by CryoBuilt offers several customization settings for members to tailor the experience for their individual needs. Members can set their own intensity level, time up to 3.5 minutes, custom LED light ambiance, and choose their own immersive, and private music selection while in the cryo chamber. CryoBuilt is proud to manufacture all products in the USA and is trusted as the Official Cryotherapy of UFC, Dallas Cowboys, and many other Professional & NCAA teams & athletes. CryoBuilt has nearly 300 whole body, electric cryotherapy systems in operation across the US, most of which are open to the public for nominal cost.
For more information, contact CryoBuilt at sales@cryobuilt.com – 800-633-1400 – https://www.cryobuilt.com