Cold and heat exposure often comes in handy when one focuses on healing the body of various ailments. Recovery after strenuous activities often carries deliberate heat and cold exposure as a way to prevent further muscle damage. For neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman, deliberate heat exposure goes beyond its muscle repair properties.
In his podcast, Dr. Huberman revealed how exposure to heat could be a powerful tool to improve health and longevity. Places like saunas could assist in this goal. With timely exposure for a set period, individuals could reap big benefits from this. A study published in 2018 recorded a group of people going to the sauna in various conditions, and Dr. Huberman referred to it while talking about the subject.
The Stanford professor revealed that this wasn’t the only research to prove the benefits of deliberate heat exposure against cardiovascular diseases. While saunas did provide an optimum environment for the experiment and results, he revealed that the conditions in the environment must be between 80°C (176°F) – 100°C (212°F).
Starting at the lower heat range, one could work their tolerance up to higher temperatures. The benefits depend on one’s heat adaptation and how much they’re able to sweat. The entire experience must last anywhere between 5 and 20 minutes. It all depended on the temperature of the environment and the individual’s tolerance.
“People who went into the sauna two or three times per week were 27% less likely to die of a cardiovascular event than people that went into the sauna just once a week, again at the temperature levels and the duration that I talked about earlier.”
For the sake of the protocol, Dr. Huberman picked a mid-point of the time spent inside. He stated that visiting a sauna set between 80°C (176°F) – 100°C (212°F) for ten to twenty minutes increased the body’s strength against heart diseases. More visits to the sauna only increased the percentage of chances, ensuring a positive effect.
“What’s particularly nice about this study…is that they looked at a number of potentially confounding variables, things like whether or not people smoked, things like whether or not people were overweight, whether or not they tended to exercise or not exercise, and they were able to separate out those variables.”
Therefore, even if one were to separate all the additional variables that may or may not impact one’s health, deliberate heat exposure in the form of saunas would be immensely beneficial. It is proven that it is a useful tool in the battle against early mortality and heart conditions.
Apart from heat exposure, Dr. Andrew Huberman also raves about sunlight exposure
A huge part of Dr. Huberman’s daily routine is to view the morning sunlight, particularly to reap the benefits of red light for the body. The wavelengths that the sun produces, especially during daytime, are incredibly crucial for increasing energy levels and maintaining overall health.
However, the neuroscientist once also talked about how exposure to daylight helped set the body’s natural clock. It increases cortisol levels, thereby kicking the body into action early in the morning. It also provides a boost of energy needed to take hold of the day.
