THE FUTURE OF RESEARCH IS COLD
In the studies that I have presented here, it was also found that the adrenaline release during the breathing exercise in the test subjects (even when lying quietly in bed) reached a higher level than that of bungee jumpers. The adrenaline breaks down fat and therefore ensures rapid energy availability. It also activates and stimulates the cardiovascular system.
In the studies that I have presented here, it was also found that the adrenaline release during the breathing exercise in the test subjects (even when lying quietly in bed) reached a higher level than that of bungee jumpers. The adrenaline breaks down fat and therefore ensures rapid energy availability. It also activates and stimulates the cardiovascular system.
INCREASED PH VALUE IN THE BLOOD AND ALKALINE THANKS TO WIM HOF METHOD
In the study, in which test subjects applied the Wim Hof method and achieved exactly the same results, researchers were able to determine that the pH value of the blood could be increased to an incredible value of 7.75. The normal value is actually in a range between 7.35 and 7.45.
COLD THERAPY AGAINST DEPRESSION
Another very interesting effect of the body's reaction to the cold is that it causes a sudden increase in noradrenaline in humans and mice. This reaction is mediated by the so-called sympathetic nervous system. Its job is to stimulate the body's fight-or-flight reflex. This is exciting because a previous scientific study has already shown that depressed people always have low levels of noradrenaline. A stronger release of the hormone means improved attention and increased focus.
Inflammation decreases and so does pain. However, norepinephrine also acts as a hormone. As soon as it is released into the blood, vasoconstriction (narrowing of blood vessels) increases. This is important for the effect of norepinephrine on cold. If blood vessels narrow, the total surface area decreases. The blood is therefore able to lose heat to the environment more quickly.
HOW COLD DOES IT HAVE TO BE FOR THIS EFFECT?
According to current findings, everything suggests that there is a certain temperature threshold that is relevant for the activation of the sympathetic nervous system. For example, a cold water bath at 20 degrees for an hour cannot activate the release of norepinephrine, whereas a bath in 14 degrees cold water for an hour increases the release of norepinephrine by around 530 percent. At the same time, the release of dopamine is increased by around 250 percent. Dopamine is therefore a wonderful complement to norepinephrine.
However, you don't necessarily have to be exposed to the cold for a particularly long time for norepinephrine to be released in large quantities. A long-term study looked into this in detail and compared 12 people with each other. One group bathed in 4.4 degree cold water for 20 seconds. The other group underwent whole-body cryotherapy at -110 degrees for two minutes three times a week. It was found that in both cases norepinephrine levels were increased by around 200 to 300 percent. It also proved that the release did not decrease when people got used to the cold.
THIS IS THE ROLE PLAYED BY THE COLD SHOCK PROTEIN
Most of our knowledge about the physiological reactions to cold has come from mammalian research, based on the study of animals that hibernate. Hibernation requires a profound metabolic shift. Its purpose is to conserve energy in winter in order to regain it for the summer months. When the body is cooled down during hibernation, not only do the heart rate, pulse and numerous other bodily functions decrease, but numerous genes are also switched off. With the exception of all the genes involved in the process of burning fat and the genes known as cold shock proteins. When contact with cold occurs, more cold shock proteins are produced through the expression of the two gene categories. A cold shock protein plays a key role in this process. Another more scientific name is RNA binding motif 3, abbreviated to RBM3. The protein can be detected in skeletal muscles, the heart, liver and brain and increases its activity even with minimal contact with cold.
BRAIN AND COLD: REACTIVATION OF ALREADY ENDANGERED SYNAPSES
Synapses are neural connections. They establish contact with other cells such as gland, muscle and sensory cells. Synapses are the basis of all nervous communication and therefore play a key role in the creation of memories. However, these connections dissolve under the influence of cold. Numerous studies with hibernating mammals have already brought this fact to light. However, when the animals increase their internal body temperature again, the synapses are almost completely restored. An astonishing thing. This is particularly interesting because this effect is not only observed in mammals. The same effect has already been observed in artificial laboratory mice, which of course do not hibernate naturally.
ALMOST 100 PERCENT SYNAPSE REGENERATION IN COLD
Mice that were exposed to a 5-degree cold environment for a total of 45 minutes showed a loss of synapses of around 26 percent in the hippocampus area. The hippocampus is the region of the brain that is responsible for our memory being able to learn. What is interesting about the animal experiment is that when the mice warmed up again, 93 percent of the synapses that had previously been lost due to the cold were able to be regenerated. What is particularly interesting is that this mechanism of regeneration depends on the cold shock protein, the activity of RBM3.
RBM3 is mainly responsible for the repair and the prerequisite for the generation of synapses. The cold shock protein therefore plays an important role in relation to RNA so that the synthesis of proteins on the dendrites can be increased. These in turn are an important component of the neurons that communicate with the synapses. This is exactly what enables RBM3 to regenerate the neurons damaged by the cold.
EIGHT WEEKS OF PROTECTION THANKS TO TWO COLD APPLICATIONS IN TWO WEEKS
As described above, a single exposure to cold temperatures of 5 degrees for 45 minutes is enough to increase RBM3 in the brain for a total of three days in mice. However, if this process is carried out once a week for a period of two weeks in a row, then RBM3 is not only increased for two weeks, but for a further six weeks. This naturally leads to an important question: what if synapses could recover in general, and not just from damage caused by cold? An exciting approach.
One experiment has already shown that overexpression of RBM3, induced by cold, led to a long-lasting synaptic protection in mice artificially infected with Alzheimer's disease. This suggests that there are some interesting and undiscovered mechanisms here. The possibility of protecting one's synapses with regular cold applications can have strong implications for research into Alzheimer's disease. But the research could also have important significance for other neurodegenerative diseases and the general aging of the brain and will become very important in the near future.
The previous experiments only dealt with animals, in this case mice. But what relevance does the cold shock protein have for humans? Overall, research into RBM3 is very young and is still in its infancy. We therefore do not yet know whether such an effect would also occur in the human organism. The question that needs to be addressed is whether the body temperature really has to be lowered for RMB3 to be activated.
DESIRED EFFECT ALREADY WHEN LOWERING BODY TEMPERATURE BY 1 DEGREES
As new research has shown, cold proteins including RBM3 are already triggered when the body temperature is lowered by just one degree. If melatonin is added or increased at the same time, RBM3 activity can be further increased. Lowering the body temperature by just one degree is certainly an achievable goal, even if this is already a mild hypothermia by definition. In one study, young men were able to lower their body temperature to 35.6 degrees by bathing in 20 degree "cold" water. The study shows how simple and easy such a "cold shock" can be induced.
EFFECTS ON IMMUNE FUNCTION AND INFLAMMATION
Inflammation serves to get rid of dead cells and worn-out tissue, mimic tissue temperature, and eliminate the cause of cell damage. If this process occurs without there being an actual threat, we have a big problem. It has long been clear that inflammatory processes are one of the key factors in aging.
