Andrew Huberman· PhD
Ideally the cold exposure is done in water and immersion to neck is better than cold showers (say the data) but both work.
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The evidence is convergent. Multiple independent sources reach the same conclusion, the underlying mechanism is well-characterized, and even the field's most cautious voices treat it as worth doing.
Ideally the cold exposure is done in water and immersion to neck is better than cold showers (say the data) but both work.
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Immersion to neck is better than cold shower is better than cold air
A 3 min cold shower or submersion to neck where you think “I really want to get out but can stay in safely” will do the trick.
but cold showers are better than cold air exposure.
Immersion up to the neck is better than cold showers
Immersion to the neck is better than cold showers is better than cold air no water.
if you sauna or hot shower, end with cold (for the metabolic effect of self re-warming).
But it turns out that just one exposure per week can be valuable.
I know nowadays many people are interested in using cold water therapy as a way to increase metabolism and fat loss, but also to improve sense of well-being, improve cognition, improve clarity of mind.
The group that was in 20 degree Celsius, meaning 68 degree Fahrenheit, water for an hour experienced a 93% increase in metabolic rate, which is remarkable given that the water wasn't that cold and yet an hour is a pretty long time to be in there.
So it's going to be much more efficient to do cold water immersion than anything else, cold showers after that and put yourself into a cold environment would be the third best thing.
The group that was at 14 degrees Celsius, meaning 57.2 degrees Fahrenheit, water for an hour experienced a 350% increase in metabolism.
cold water immersion up to the neck with your feet and hands submerged also is going to be the most effective. Second best would be cold shower. Third best would be to go outside with a minimum amount of clothing, but of course, clothing that is culturally appropriate and that would allow you to experience cold to the point where you would almost want to shiver or start shivering.
I think there was another study showing 59 degrees Fahrenheit at one hour was like two to three, but who wants to do one hour at 59?
you boost up, you can get 300% to 500% increase in metabolic rate, and you can measure this, which I can show you some stuff later that you can actually measure it, and a shift in respiratory quotient towards what we want to do, which is fat burn.