Contrast Therapy: The Benefits of Alternating Heat and Cold
Contrast therapy, also known as hot and cold therapy, has become increasingly popular in recent years due to its numerous health benefits. Despite its recent popularity, alternating between cold plunges and saunas is not a recent phenomenon. The use of this practice dates back thousands of years, but modern science continues to validate the benefits of contrast therapy.
Keep reading for everything you need to know about contrast therapy and how to implement it in your wellness routine.
What Is Contrast Therapy?
Simply put, contrast therapy is alternating between cold exposure and heat exposure in a given period of time. The most common and effective way to do contrast therapy is to use a cold plunge and sauna.
Some people choose to use a jacuzzi instead of a sauna or cryotherapy instead of a cold plunge. (But one study states that cryotherapy is not as effective as cold water immersion for recovery).
Others use contrast showers, which is alternating between hot and cold water in the shower. But this isn’t as effective as cold plunges and saunas. This is simply because it is impossible for the hot and cold water to cover your entire body in the shower the way it does in a plunge and sauna.
The History of Contrast Therapy
The use of hot and cold therapy dates back thousands of years. As far back as 3500 BC, Ancient Egyptians used warm baths and cold water (cooled via water stored in porous clay jars or taken from cooler parts of the Nile River) to promote relaxation and ease muscle soreness.
Traditional Chinese medicine, dating back as far as 2500 BC, used heat and cold exposure as part of their yin and yang principles to maintain optimal health.
More “recently,” the ancient Greeks used hot and cold baths to increase vitality and improve overall health. Even Hippocrates, often referred to as “the father of medicine,” advocated for contrast therapy to treat various ailments.
The ancient Romans believed in contrast therapy so strongly they had dedicated bathhouses for the practice. They included hot baths (called a caldarium) and cold baths (called a frigidarium) in their bathhouses to cleanse the body, improve circulation, and strengthen the immune system.
Needless to say, while hot and cold therapy has gained lots of popularity in recent years, it’s hardly a recent concept.
How Contrast Therapy Works
The Science Behind Heat Exposure
Heat therapy, also known as thermotherapy, dilates blood vessels and increases blood flow to targeted areas. This process helps deliver oxygen and nutrients to muscles and facilitates the removal of metabolic waste products.
When you apply heat to the body, it relaxes muscles, alleviates stiffness, and soothes discomfort. It also promotes the release of endorphins, creating a comforting and healing effect.
The Effects of Cold Exposure on the Body
Cold therapy, also known as cryotherapy, operates in the exact opposite way. By constricting blood vessels, it reduces inflammation and numbs pain in the affected area. Cold therapy slows down cellular metabolism, which can prevent tissue damage from injuries or following a strenuous workout.
The application of cold reduces swelling and creates a numbing effect that provides pain relief. Cold exposure also creates a surge of dopamine—a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in regulating mood, motivation, and our reward pathways. It plays a significant role in our feelings of pleasure and satisfaction and positively influences our behavior, motor control, and decision-making.
How Alternating Between Heat and Cold Impacts the Body
The benefits of contrast therapy come from alternating vasoconstriction and vasodilation. It does this by creating a pump-like effect in the body’s circulatory system.
When heat is applied, it increases blood flow and moves blood vessels toward the skin’s surface. Following this with cold causes those vessels to constrict. It does this by pushing blood away from the skin’s surface and deeper into the body to conserve body heat.
The effect of contrast therapy improves circulation, supports the immune system, reduces muscle soreness, and speeds up the recovery of damaged tissues. The rhythmic change in temperature can also activate the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting relaxation and reducing stress.
Who Is Contrast Therapy For?
Barring any preexisting medical conditions, anyone can experience the benefits of contrast therapy. (Always consult your doctor to make sure contrast therapy is safe for you!)
Lots of people—including wellness enthusiasts, athletes, and even those who suffer from chronic pain—can benefit from hot and cold therapy.
Contrast therapy has become popular with wellness enthusiasts for a wide variety of significant benefits. The practice promotes overall well-being by strengthening the immune system, improving circulation, and enhancing mental clarity.
Regular sessions can improve mood, reduce stress levels, and improve sleep quality. The invigorating effects of alternating temperatures can also stimulate metabolism and promote detoxification. This is why many health-conscious people have made it a part of their wellness routines.
Athletes can benefit significantly from contrast therapy. We recently discussed the benefits of cold plunges for athletes and how they can use them for improved recovery. Rapid switching between sauna and cold plunges after a workout stimulates blood circulation, minimizing delayed-onset muscle soreness, inflammation, and the time it takes to recover between workouts.
The cold immersion reduces swelling and numbs pain, while the heat relaxes muscles and improves flexibility. This combination makes contrast therapy an effective tool for athletes looking to minimize recovery time between training sessions and even improve performance.
Contrast therapy isn’t reserved for those looking to improve general wellness or recovery from training sessions. Those experiencing chronic pain can benefit from hot and cold therapy.
This case study concluded, “Contrast baths can potentially provide a marked improvement in neuropathic pain.” That case study includes only one person (hence “case” study). However, this study included 90 adults and concluded that “contrast hydrotherapy was significantly effective in reducing pain associated with knee osteoarthritis and improving their quality of life.”
Contraindications of Sauna Use
Contrast therapy has contraindications for people with preexisting health conditions. It should be avoided by individuals with cardiovascular conditions such as heart disease or hypertension. People with circulatory issues like deep vein thrombosis should also avoid this therapy due to the risk of dislodging blood clots.
Those with skin conditions sensitive to extreme temperatures, such as eczema or frostbite, should avoid contrast therapy. Pregnant women and individuals with certain neurological conditions like Raynaud’s disease should also avoid contrast therapy.
This list is by no means exhaustive! Always check with a medical professional to make sure you’re healthy enough to implement contrast therapy in your wellness routine!
How to Implement Contrast Therapy in Your Wellness Routine
Contrast therapy—whether using a sauna and cold plunge, a hot bath and cold bath, or alternating between hot and cold in your shower—is a welcome addition to any wellness routine. Here are some key takeaways on implementing them in your daily routine.
What Temperatures Should I Use?
Most cold plunges range from 37 to 59°F. Most saunas range from 120 to 195°F (depending if it’s a traditional or infrared sauna). But if you’re just starting out with this practice, you don’t need to begin with temperatures at those “extremes.”
Most health benefits of cold plunges begin below 59°F. And the benefits of saunas begin above 120°F (for infrared) or 150°F (for traditional) saunas.
Start slow and always listen to your body. If you’re just beginning this practice, use temperatures that feel cold and feel hot for you. Gradually decrease the temperature of the cold plunge and increase the temperatures of the sauna or hot bath until you reach the above temperatures.
How Long Should I Stay In?
Again, start slow and listen to your body. If you can only stay in the cold for 15 seconds at first, pat yourself on the back and aim to increase the cold plunge duration next time. If you can only stay in the hot sauna for one or two minutes, again, give yourself credit and aim to increase the sauna duration next time.
An ideal contrast therapy routine would include one minute in the cold plunge and three to four minutes in the sauna. Repeating this process for a total duration of 20-30 minutes yields the best results for most people.
How Often Should I Do Contrast Therapy?
There’s really no limit to how often you can do it. Most people will be limited by time, so doing it as often as possible (even if that’s only once or twice per week) will yield health benefits. But if you have the time, you can safely do it daily. It’s important to listen to your body.
If you’re an athlete, implementing contrast therapy after your workouts will give you the best results in terms of recovery.If you want to implement contrast therapy into your wellness routine, discover the best local spots for contrast therapy near you.
