Cold exposure helps stave off the winter blues. Studies indicate that an hour of outdoor exercise offers the same mood lift as 2.5 hours of light treatment indoors, so make use of the outdoors for a happier head. Cold exposure can also boost mood by helping to reduce inflammation throughout the body.
Colder air boosts your brain activity, improves focus, and helps you think more clearly. Numerous studies show that our cognitive functions improve in colder weather: we're prone to quicker decision-making and staying calm when our body needs more energy to keep us warm.
These studies suggest that regular cold exposure can be effective in treatment of chronic autoimmune inflammation [5], reduce hypercholesterolaemia by brown adipose tissue activation [6] and have a positive effect on stress regulation [5].
On the other hand, cold weather helps you feel better. When it is cold, your body has to work harder, which leads to increased endorphin production. More endorphins in your body give you a happier state of mind while at the same time relieving stress.
Cold air can cause your airways to narrow. This can increase the amount of mucus you produce and make it harder to breathe.
Ultimately, neither warm nor cold climates are inherently better than the other for mental well-being. Both offer unique challenges and rewards. But, where would you be happier? The answer might depend on your personal temperament, goals and lifestyle preferences.
This effect can be particularly helpful if stress has you feeling tense. A short exposure to winter air can help your body and mind feel more relaxed, creating a sense of calm that supports overall mental well-being.
Reduced inflammation: Similar to putting ice on an injury, cold weather can reduce inflammation and pain. One study found that runners exposed to cold temperatures recovered faster from workouts. This suggests that exercising in winter may result in less inflammation and soreness than in the summer.
The results indicate that short-term whole-body cold-water immersion may have integrative effects on brain functioning, contributing to the reported improvement in mood.
Cold exposure appears to reduce inflammation and may help fight inflammation-related pain and swelling. There's even evidence that cold showers help reduce pain and inflammation in people with inflammatory arthritis.
Taking cold showers every day for 30 days may lead to increased energy levels and alertness as well as improved overall health. Your skin and hair may feel and look better due to the reduced drying and irritating effects of a hot shower. However, remember, individual responses to cold therapy vary.
The colder temperature also caused changes to the composition of the EVs that reduced their efficacy. The researchers theorize that all of this hampers the body's ability to fight off respiratory viruses and leads to the annual winter surge. We can't change the weather, but we can protect ourselves.
After cold exposure, the body's energy metabolic increases as well as NEFA intake, both of which indicated that it could regulate metabolism and increase heat production. BAT thermogenesis may be available as therapies to against obesity in the near future.
Cold exposure increases the production of a neurotransmitter called norepinephrine (focus, attention, vigilance, mood). As a result, cold therapy can produce a feeling of calm, happiness, and well-being, which can support the mitigation of mental health symptoms such as depression and anxiety.
But can cold water immersion have benefits beyond fundraising? Research indicates that icy water may have a positive effect on recovery after exercise by reducing inflammation and soreness. It also may help build resiliency, restore balance to the nervous system and improve cognitive function and mood.
Often described as moderate in temperature and precipitation, type C climates are the most favorable to human habitation in that they host the largest human population densities on the planet. Type C climates are found mostly in the midlatitudes bordering the tropics.
Getting cold air or placing a cool compress on the back of the neck or forehead for a few minutes can help reduce the feeling of being hot or flushed because it counteracts the hypothalamus' efforts to raise body temperature, thus easing the feeling of nausea.
According to the IAU, “The contemplation of a starry sky, the Moon, or the planets from a dark, natural place elicits a feeling of awe strongly connected with positive emotions and attitudes.
In short, sleeping with socks on may help you fall asleep and get better, deeper Zzzs. “Wearing socks to sleep can help you with thermoregulation by retaining heat, vasodilation for better peripheral circulation, and preventing heat loss through the extremities,” Dr. Harris explains.
Some research suggests that sleeping naked can promote better sleep, leading to various mental and physical health benefits. By encouraging core body temperature regulation, naked sleeping may help support reproductive function, skin health, cortisol levels, metabolic control, and more.