The Science

The first whole-body cryo chambers first appeared in Japan in the 1980s. Now cryotherapy is loved by sports teams and has helped many medical conditions.

The temperature of whole body cryo chambers is usually between -85℃ and 140℃. Sessions in the chamber last between 2 and 4 minutes. So why on Earth would someone want to do this?

Well, you may have experienced the fatigue and muscle soreness associated with training, or you may find it hard to get to sleep. It may be that you suffer from depression, anxiety, or chronic pain. 

Your skin quickly cools in the chamber and triggers your sympathetic nervous system. Blood vessels close to the surface of the skin narrow. Blood flow to the peripheries and injured or inflamed tissues in the body will also slow. Less blood flow slows the metabolic processes in these areas. The result is less inflammation and swelling.

Cryotherapy can reduce cell death after exercise and slow the conduction of impulses along nerves. Together this means reduced tissue damage and pain sensation.

The narrowing of the blood vessels in the skin during cryotherapy leads to more blood flowing back to your core. This blood flow switches on your ‘baroreflex’. The baroreflex is how you regulate blood pressure via your autonomic nervous system. There are two branches to the autonomic nervous system: the sympathetic ‘fight or flight’ response and the parasympathetic ‘rest and digest’ response. The stimulation of the baroreflex by whole body cryotherapy activates the parasympathetic nervous system.

Heart rate variability (HRV) can measure parasympathetic nervous system activation. It is increasingly popular in wearable technology like Whoop straps and Oura rings, as well as scientific research. 

Studies have shown improved HRV after whole body cryotherapy in healthy adults and elite athletes. Higher HRV is a sign of recovery, meaning you are ready for your next challenge at home or in the gym.

Overall, more parasympathetic activity is associated with better health and thought to protect your heart. Delayed or incomplete parasympathetic activity is associated with an increased risk of death.

Whole body cryotherapy can activate your ‘endogenous opioid system’. This internal pain control system changes how we feel internal and external pain. It also gives us a sense of wellbeing and reward. Changes to endogenous opioids after whole body cryotherapy can help depression and anxiety. We know depression is more than a mental problem; depressed people also have more inflammation. Whole body cryotherapy can also reduce inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein. 

Whole body cryotherapy is also very popular to help sleep. It can give deeper, quieter and less disturbed sleep. 

So, whole body cryotherapy can help improve wellbeing and recovery from exercise, help reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, reduce pain sensation, and optimise sleep. It has many positive effects, it is drug-free, and it can easily fit into your week.