How it Works

Cryotherapy is a recovery method that uses limited exposure to super-cooled air, usually around -200° F. This creates a cascade of health benefits, as the user’s nervous system responds to this unique hormetic stressor. Sessions run for a maximum time of 3 minutes, with sessions as short as 1 and half minutes for beginners. During that short time the body limits blood flow to the vital organs where it is hyper-oxygenated and invigorated. When the user is exposed to ambient air temperatures, blood flow rebounds and a host of beneficial compounds revitalize the tissues throughout the body and brain.

• On average, total body temperature decreased by 10 degrees F (5.8 degrees C). [1]

  • Cold sensors become activated in the nervous system and the brain sends signals to maintain thermal homeostasis by constricting blood vessels that supply the muscles, which concentrates blood supply in vital organs near the core. [2] 

• Core temperature changes are negligible, only decreasing by less than a degree Celsius. [1]

• Rapid short-term freezing of surface of skin from cryotherapy showed greater temperature reduction than the gradual cooling of cold water immersion. [4]

Benefits

Brain

• Increases performance of cognitive functions [5] 

• Improves symptoms of depression, anxiety and other mood disorders [6, 7]

• Increases norepinephrine, which is involved with mood, attention, focus and pain alleviation [8]

  • Brain releases this to counteract this useful hormetic stressor via activation of the sympathetic nervous system

• Beneficial for well-being and quality of life [6]

Blood

• Increases blood oxygen saturation and nutritional supply to muscles [2]

• May stimulate angiogenesis, or the growth of new blood vessels [9]

• Constricts blood vessels in the periphery during session, concentrating blood to the core of the body and its vital organs. Then this concentrated, nutrified blood returns to the periphery once the body initiates vasodilation [2]

• Encourages optimal cholesterol ratios

  • Increases HDL, decreases LDL [11]

Immunity

• Pumps more blood enriched with white blood cells for increased immune response [3]

• Modulates both adaptive and innate immunity [29] 

• Demonstrates general anti-oxidant effect, especially after 20 sessions [23]

Energy & Metabolism

• Upon multiple exposures, thermogenesis is activated and mitochondria production increases via fat burning [10]

• Burns fat

  • Converts WAT (White Adipose Tissue) to BAT (Brown Adipose Tissue) [12]

  • Limits weight gain [13, 14]

• Regulates blood glucose levels [14]

Inflammation

• Decreases pain perception [15, 16]

• Increases mood & quality of life [15]

• Cryotherapy increases anti-inflammatory compounds and decreases pro-inflammatory compounds [9, 17]

Hormones

• Activates norepinephrine which is a general stress reliever [8]

• Noticeable increases in testosterone production in males [18, 19]

Skeletal Health

• Assists in fracture recovery and prevention [20]

• Improves joint flexibility [21] 

Muscle Recovery

• Reduces negative effects of oxidation in post-exercise [22, 32]

• Outcompeted IR (infrared) therapy and passive recovery for general measurements of recovery and well-being, post-exercise [24] 

• Induced decreased perception of muscle tiredness and pain [15, 16, 24]

Sleep

• Shows benefits for sleep duration and limits sleep latency, or how long it takes to fall asleep [25]

• Induces deeper, more restorative sleep [30]

• Increases subjective and objective measures of sleep quality [18, 30]

• Increases comfort for better sleep quality during injury recovery [31]

Beauty

• Increases collagen production [26] 

• Increases scar healing [27]

• Burns abdominal fat [13] 

Optimal Use

Time

• 3 min maximum per session

Number of Sessions

• 20 sessions were shown to be best for long-term effectiveness and the induced anti-inflammatory adaptation [1]

• 30+ sessions are most optimal for full physiological adaptation [28]

References

[1]

Lombardi G, Ziemann E, Banfi G. Whole-Body Cryotherapy in Athletes: From Therapy to Stimulation. An Updated Review of the Literature. Front Physiol. 2017;8:258. Published 2017 May 2. doi:10.3389/fphys.2017.00258 https://dx.doi.org/10.3389%2Ffphys.2017.00258

[2]

Cheung SS. Responses of the hands and feet to cold exposure. Temperature (Austin). 2015;2(1):105-120. Published 2015 Feb 27. https://doi.org/10.1080/23328940.2015.1008890

[3]

Lubkowska A, Szygula Z, Klimek AJ, Torii M. Do sessions of cryostimulation have influence on white blood cell count, level of IL6 and total oxidative and antioxidative status in healthy men?. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2010;109(1):67-72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-009-1207-2

[4]

Costello JT, Culligan K, Selfe J, Donnelly AE. Muscle, skin and core temperature after -110°c cold air and 8°c water treatment. PLoS One. 2012;7(11):e48190. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0048190

[5]

Rymaszewska, J.; Lion, K.M.; Stańczykiewicz, B.; Rymaszewska, J.E.; Trypka, E.; Pawlik-Sobecka, L.; Kokot, I.; Płaczkowska, S.; Zabłocka, A.; Szcześniak, D. The improvement of cognitive deficits after whole-body cryotherapy—A randomised controlled trial. Exp. Gerontol. 2021, 146, 111237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2021.111237

[6]

Rymaszewska J, Lion KM, Pawlik-Sobecka L, Pawłowski T, Szcześniak D, Trypka E, Rymaszewska JE, Zabłocka A and Stanczykiewicz B (2020) Efficacy of the Whole-Body Cryotherapy as Add-on Therapy to Pharmacological Treatment of Depression—A Randomized Controlled Trial. Front. Psychiatry 11:522. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00522

[7]

Rymaszewska, J., Tulczynski, A., Zagrobelny, Z., Kiejna, A., & Hadrys, T. (2003). Influence of whole body cryotherapy on depressive symptoms – preliminary report. Acta Neuropsychiatrica, 15(3), 122-128. https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1601-5215.2003.00023.x

[8]

Hausswirth C, Schaal K, Le Meur Y, et al. Parasympathetic activity and blood catecholamine responses following a single partial-body cryostimulation and a whole-body cryostimulation. PLoS One. 2013;8(8):e72658. Published 2013 Aug 22. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0072658

[9]

Pournot H, Bieuzen F, Louis J, et al. Time-course of changes in inflammatory response after whole-body cryotherapy multi exposures following severe exercise [published correction appears in PLoS One. 2011;6(11). doi:10.1371/annotation/0adb3312-7d2b-459c-97f7-a09cfecf5881. Mounier, Rémi [added]]. PLoS One. 2011;6(7):e22748. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0022748

[10]

Ihsan M, Markworth JF, Watson G, et al. Regular postexercise cooling enhances mitochondrial biogenesis through AMPK and p38 MAPK in human skeletal muscle. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2015;309(3):R286-R294. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpregu.00031.2015

[11]

Lubkowska A, Banfi G, Dołegowska B, d'Eril GV, Łuczak J, Barassi A. Changes in lipid profile in response to three different protocols of whole-body cryostimulation treatments. Cryobiology. 2010;61(1):22-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cryobiol.2010.03.010

[12]

Dulian K, Laskowski R, Grzywacz T, et al. The whole body cryostimulation modifies irisin concentration and reduces inflammation in middle aged, obese men. Cryobiology. 2015;71(3):398-404. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cryobiol.2015.10.143

[13]

Wiecek M, Szymura J, Sproull J, Szygula Z. Whole-Body Cryotherapy Is an Effective Method of Reducing Abdominal Obesity in Menopausal Women with Metabolic Syndrome. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2020; 9(9):2797. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9092797

[14]

Kim SH, Plutzky J. Brown Fat and Browning for the Treatment of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders. Diabetes Metab J. 2016;40(1):12-21. https://doi.org/10.4093/dmj.2016.40.1.12

[15]

Bettoni L, Bonomi FG, Zani V, et al. Effects of 15 consecutive cryotherapy sessions on the clinical output of fibromyalgic patients. Clin Rheumatol. 2013;32(9):1337-1345. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-013-2280-9

[16]

Jastrząbek R, Straburzyńska-Lupa A, Rutkowski R, Romanowski W. Effects of different local cryotherapies on systemic levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and clinical parameters in active rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatol Int. 2013;33(8):2053-2060. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-013-2692-5

[17]

Effects of whole-body cryotherapy on serum mediators of inflammation and serum muscle enzymes in athletes Banfi G., Melegati G., Barassi A., Dogliotti G., Melzi d'Eril G., Dugue B., Corsi M.M. (2009)  Journal of Thermal Biology,  34  (2) , pp. 55-59 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2008.10.003

[18]

Russell, Mark1; Birch, Jack2; Love, Thomas2; Cook, Christian J.3; Bracken, Richard M.2; Taylor, Tom4; Swift, Eamon4; Cockburn, Emma5; Finn, Charlie2; Cunningham, Daniel2; Wilson, Laura5; Kilduff, Liam P.2 The Effects of a Single Whole-Body Cryotherapy Exposure on Physiological, Performance, and Perceptual Responses of Professional Academy Soccer Players After Repeated Sprint Exercise, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: February 2017 - Volume 31 - Issue 2 - p 415-421 https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001505

[19]

Grasso D, Lanteri P, Di Bernardo C, et al. Salivary steroid hormone response to whole-body cryotherapy in elite rugby players. J Biol Regul Homeost Agents. 2014;28(2):291-300. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25001661/

[20]

Galliera E, Dogliotti G, Melegati G, Corsi Romanelli MM, Cabitza P, Banfi G. Bone remodelling biomarkers after whole body cryotherapy (WBC) in elite rugby players. Injury. 2013;44(8):1117-1121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.injury.2012.08.057

[21]

Acute effects of whole-body cryotherapy on sit-and-reach amplitude in women and men De Nardi M., La Torre A., Benis R., Sarabon N., Fonda B. (2015)  Cryobiology,  71  (3) , pp. 511-513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cryobiol.2015.10.148

[22]

Sutkowy P, Augustyńska B, Woźniak A, Rakowski A. Physical exercise combined with whole-body cryotherapy in evaluating the level of lipid peroxidation products and other oxidant stress indicators in kayakers. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2014;2014:402631. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/402631

[23]

Lubkowska A, Dołęgowska B, Szyguła Z. Whole-body cryostimulation--potential beneficial treatment for improving antioxidant capacity in healthy men--significance of the number of sessions. PLoS One. 2012;7(10):e46352. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0046352

[24]

Hausswirth C, Louis J, Bieuzen F, et al. Effects of whole-body cryotherapy vs. far-infrared vs. passive modalities on recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage in highly-trained runners. PLoS One. 2011;6(12):e27749. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0027749

[25]

Schaal K, LE Meur Y, Louis J, et al. Whole-Body Cryostimulation Limits Overreaching in Elite Synchronized Swimmers. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2015;47(7):1416-1425. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000546

[26]

Dalkowski, A., Fimmel, S., Beutler, C. and Zouboulis, C.C. (2003), Cryotherapy modifies synthetic activity and differentiation of keloidal fibroblasts in vitro. Experimental Dermatology, 12: 673-681. https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0625.2003.00015.x

[27]

Gong, T., Zhang, C., Kang, J., Lou, Z., Scholp, A. and Jiang, J.J. (2019), The effects of cryotherapy on vocal fold healing in a rabbit model. The Laryngoscope, 129: E151-E157. https://doi.org/10.1002/lary.27629

[28]

Szygula Z, Lubkowska A, Giemza C, Skrzek A, Bryczkowska I, Dołęgowska B. Hematological parameters, and hematopoietic growth factors: EPO and IL-3 in response to whole-body cryostimulation (WBC) in military academy students. PLoS One. 2014;9(4):e93096. Published 2014 Apr 2. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0093096

[29]

​​Nasi, M., Bianchini, E., Lo Tartaro, D. et al. Effects of whole-body cryotherapy on the innate and adaptive immune response in cyclists and runners. Immunol Res 68, 422–435 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12026-020-09165-1

[30]

Wafa Douzi, Olivier Dupuy, Maxence Tanneau, Geoffroy Boucard, Romain Bouzigon & Benoit Dugué (2019) 3-min whole body cryotherapy/cryostimulation after training in the evening improves sleep quality in physically active men, European Journal of Sport Science, 19:6, 860-867. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2018.1551937

[31]

The efficacy of continuous cryotherapy on the postoperative shoulder: A prospective, randomized investigation Singh H., Osbahr D.C., Holovacs T.F., Cawley P.W., Speer K.P. (2001)  Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery,  10  (6) , pp. 522-525. https://doi.org/10.1067/mse.2001.118415

[32]

Celestyna Mila-Kierzenkowska, Alicja Jurecka, Alina Woźniak, Michał Szpinda, Beata Augustyńska, Bartosz Woźniak, "The Effect of Submaximal Exercise Preceded by Single Whole-Body Cryotherapy on the Markers of Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Blood of Volleyball Players", Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, vol. 2013, Article ID 409567, 10 pages, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/409567