Fire & Ice: Tips, Tricks & Biohacks To Maximize The Benefits Of Sauna, Hyperthermia, Cryotherapy & Cold Thermogenesis.

In flies and worms, just a brief exposure to heat treatment has been shown to increase their lifespan by up to 15%—and that's mediated by these heat shock proteins. That hormetic response that increases the heat shock proteins is associated with longevity, and it's just basically decreasing the rate at which telomeres shorten. It's protecting DNA, cellular membranes, and mitochondria when you have this regular sauna practice.

We know that heat stress can also increase the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and that's BDNF—it increases the growth of new brain cells ... Heat and aerobic exercise can both, pretty significantly, increase BDNF.

Cold water immersion... one hour at 57 degrees Fahrenheit increases norepinephrine by 500% and dopamine by 250%. 40 degrees Fahrenheit cold water immersion for about 20 seconds... increases norepinephrine 200-300%.

I found one of the best ways, when I'm using a continuous blood glucose monitor, to control my blood glucose the entire day long is a good 5-10 minute cold exposure in the morning.

If you're sweating and you're pitting out at the office after a strength training session, a quick cold shower to cool your body down is great. It's not going to blunt the hormetic response to exercise. A 10-minute ice bath—save that for at least 2 hours after the exercise session because it's about the 2-hour window that allows your body to mount that inflammatory response.

Heat is known to induce muscle hypertrophy ... Muscle hypertrophy is an increase in the size of your muscle cells and usually is accompanied by an increase in strength, of course.

I did a bunch of research into what could reduce gut permeability in the heat and what could reduce gut permeability in athletes overall, and it turns out that something called colostrum is pretty much the number one way to do that. For example, there was one recent randomized control trial on healthy adults—they showed that 1 gram a day of colostrum for 20 days reduced levels of stool zonulin. Stool zonulin is the gold standard marker of gut lining permeability.

What you see in response to a regular heat practice is a pretty massive release of growth hormone.

They found, in a recent study... a decrease in the risk of depression, dementia, and Alzheimer's in people who regularly swim in cold water.