The Science & Health Benefits of Deliberate Heat Exposure

Similarly, we’ve evolved with another type of exercise: thermal exercise. We are great at changing our environment to suit our comfort levels, but the relative lack of variation in temperature we experience on a daily basis may undermine our peak brainpower and resistance to disease.

The group trained by Hof were able to control their heart rate, temperature, and immune response, and stimulate the sympathetic system. This practice of heavy breathing along with regular cold exposure was later discovered to release the stress hormones adrenaline, cortisol, and norepinephrine on command. The burst of adrenaline gave heavy breather

If the thought of being even remotely chilly makes you reach for the nearest blanket, take comfort: the more we expose ourselves to cooler temperatures, the more health benefits we stand to gain. And these benefits increase even as we mentally adapt to the cooler temperatures.

Heat Is the New Black “Hyperthermic conditioning” (calculated heat exposure) can help you to increase growth hormone (GH) levels and substantially improve endurance. I now take ~20-minute sauna sessions post-workout or post-stretching at least four times per week, typically at roughly 160 to 170°F. If nothing else, it seems to dramatically decrease

One such protective measure includes activating heat shock proteins, or HSPs. As their name implies, heat is the primary variable to get HSPs going, although these proteins are also activated by exercise and cold temperatures.