Have you ever realized that being shivering cold might be nature’s alarm for your body to start losing weight? According to a recent study (PMID: 35837014), you can spend a few hours in a cold room (60-66°F) and burn 188 extra calories on average! And this is without feeling hot a bit.
On the other hand, the concept of cold exposure and the idea of getting healthy by lowering the thermostat are both alive.
The trend of being colder rather than having a warmer environment for people to stay healthy is becoming greater day by day.
The ways of such exposure may include taking cold showers, sleeping in cooler rooms, or lowering the degree of the thermostat. Consequently, the impact of these methods can be immediate as well as long-term.
How Cold Temperatures Kickstart Fat Burning
The primary purpose of your body is to adapt to the environment in order to live. When exposed to cold, it starts to take actions to fight off the cold. It is the process of thermogenesis, which is a way that your body creates heat naturally.
These are the two main types:
1. Shivering Thermogenesis
Every person should be aware of this factor. When the body enters a cold state, the muscles constantly contract to produce warmth. This method of shivering is efficient but at the same time draws discomfort. The sensation of being cold that sets in the body is a typical condition of the core temperature indicating that the body is trying to adjust it.
2. Non-Shivering Thermogenesis
This is the principle change. Even though a person is not shivering, his/her body operates at the maximum level. The brown fat, known as brown adipose tissue, is the fat that is metabolically inert in warm and cold ambient temperatures; yet on exposure to the cold, it can burn energy in order to generate warmth.
This reaction is simple but impressively effective. While white fat merely stores energy, brown fat destroys calories and at the same time generates warmth.
It is in a high metabolic state, and its one function is not only to keep the required body temperature but also to prevent exposure in cold weather.
Could You Explain in Detail What Brown Fat Is?
The biology of brown fat is very different from that of its white cousin. Brown fat is rich in mitochondria, which are cell organelles required for energy metabolism.
Once activated by the cold, the brown fat specimen extracts sugar and fat molecules from the blood and thereby consumes them to generate heat.
It is fascinating that brown fat is more common in babies. This tissue source played a crucial role in keeping them warm, as shivering was not an effective mechanism of heat generation.
However, adults also have brown fat reserves, concentrated especially in the neck and upper back. These depots are potential sites for adaptation to a higher activity level through the repeated exposure to cold.
What the Study Found (PMID: 35837014)
A study conducted in 2022 and published in Frontiers in Physiology was basically about the impact of mild cold on energy expenditure. Only the most important results are reported in the following text:
- Evoking the cold response in the participants’ brown fat cells led to a 188-calorie increase in energy consumption within 2 hours under conditions from 60 to 66° F.
- The increased amount of brown fat cells, in turn, raised calorie burn and optimized metabolism.
- Also, a significant feature in the treatment of obesity and insulin resistance is that glucose metabolism improved when the cold response was present.
The research has a meaningful impact on not exercising besides the fact that using the cold in practice in this way may lead to increased expenditure of calorie and hence the person’s health may be fitter metabolically, enabling the person to have an easier journey in achieving his/her weight goals.
Other Benefits of Cold Exposure
Not only losing weight but what else can cold exposure give?
Reduced Inflammation
Low temperatures cause the blood vessels to contract (vasoconstriction). As a result, such a process restricts inflammation and prevents the body from swelling.
In the step of going from cold to hot, the blood vessels will grow bigger (vasodilation), leading to an increased supply of oxygen and nutrients that will satisfy the tissues of the body. The process can be beneficial to athletes and sufferers of joint pain and muscle soreness.
Better Mood and Focus
There is a response triggered in the brain through exposure to cold that is related to the release of certain neurotransmitters like dopamine, norepinephrine, and endorphins just to mention a few.
The stimulating changes to a more positive mood, increased cognitive function, and regulated stress are some of the effects that come with the chemically related properties of these mood enhancers.
The reported euphoria encountered following cold slides or winter swimming could be due to this cause.
Deeper Sleep
To start sleeping and be able to continue sleeping throughout the night, the temperature of your body must be slightly reduced. If the room’s temperature is lower (around 66°F), the body can more effectively produce this temperature fall naturally, thus you will have a regenerating deeper sleep.
Over time, such sleeping conditions trigger brown fat to work during the night that in turn is a health booster to the body’s metabolism.
Improved Insulin Sensitivity
According to some research, exposing yourself to cold can be of substantial help in your body better dealing with sugar in the blood. It is a crucial factor in lowering the chances of developing type 2 diabetes, especially for people who have insulin resistance or suffer from metabolic syndrome.
How to Safely Use Cold Exposure at Home
Here are some ways of doing mild cold exposure while being at home without needing any ice bath or cryo-chamber:
- Set the thermostat to 60-66°F for a few hours during work, reading, or relaxation.
- Sleep in a cold room using a thin cover to activate thermogenesis while sleeping.
- Shower in the morning with cold water for 30-90 seconds to provoke brown fat.
- If the weather is cold, have cold walks with minimum clothes for a short time.
- Wear shorter clothes indoors slightly to keep yourself cold, but make sure you are not completely uncomfortable.
By following these methods, you can increase your cold tolerance and develop brown fat activity, all without the risk of frostbite or hypothermia.
Real-Life Testimonials
Biohackers, athletes, and wellness enthusiasts have been noticing the positive impacts of cold exposure so they are using it in their routines.
- Anna, 32, from Colorado, shared how she felt more energetic and focused after taking cold showers every day.
- Derek, 45, from Ohio, is a good example of a person who lost 8 pounds in just 6 weeks by means of lower bedroom temperature and outdoor walking in thin clothes.
- Melissa, 29, from New York, is a person who effectively dealt with chronic inflammation that seemed only to be a pipe dream simply by combining cold therapy with yoga and building excellent sleeping habits.
Although these stories are not being investigated scientifically, they still remain a positive indication of how changing our day-to-day routine towards health and productivity is not at all an unreachable goal.
Should You Try It?
Most healthy adults can safely get into cold exposure without experiencing any risk, only if they are doing it progressively and carefully. However, particular people should think twice before doing it or better yet ask their doctor for advice first:
- People with heart diseases
- Those who experience Raynaud’s phenomenon
- Expectant mothers
- Those very young and the old who have little capability to adjust their body temperature
If your health is in good order and you are eager to try it, testing short and mild cold sessions will most probably not cause too much trouble.
Reality
There is much more that informs your health than you think. Through the use of cold exposure, you can provoke your body to have more calories burned in a scientific way, have a good mood, and sleep better, without putting in much effort.
Recent studies are emerging that support these ideas by giving further grounds regarding the brown fat and thermogenesis, making it even clearer that seemingly minor lifestyle changes—for example, lowering your thermostat, or taking a cold shower—can be very influential on your health status and your mind to the upside.
So, the next time you are about to cover yourself with a blanket, think about it for a second and let yourself shiver a bit more. This may become something that your body would appreciate in the future.
