Whole Body Cryotherapy is the brief exposure to ultra-low air temperatures in a fully enclosed, insulated room or chamber to activate the body’s natural response to extreme cold conveniently. While this sounds painful, it is much more comfortable than a cold plunge or even a cold shower. This is because whole body cryo uses hypercooled, oxygenated air rather than a fluid such as water to cool the body. Air has a much lower insulating factor than water, so your body gets the great benefits of cold without the pain of being covered in water.

When you step into the whole body cryo chamber, the cold receptors in your skin send a fight-or-flight signal to your brain. Your brain quickly releases a chemical called norepinephrine which is a cold shock protein that regulates endorphins such as dopamine and adrenaline. This is the body’s natural reaction to allow you mental clarity and strength to get through a potentially difficult situation. These chemicals instantly cause you to overcome the initial cold shock and give you confidence that you can get through the session. In nature, this is the body’s way of giving you additional time, energy, and mental clarity to get out of a snowstorm or danger. Bonus, the endorphins last for hours after the session so you walk away feeling great and may experience an elevated mood for several hours. Your body will also produce excess melatonin in response to high endorphin release and many experience vastly improved sleep the night after doing cryotherapy.

During cryotherapy, your body will also release the antioxidant, glutathione. Glutathione is known as a “master antioxidant” and breaks down toxins in your body. Toxins enter your body through outside forces such as the sun, pollution, poor diet, and stress. Stress, such as working out can break down cells and cause exhaustion. This type of stress is why we feel tired during and after workouts. Glutathione helps to repair damaged cells from such stress and limits/reverses the negative effects of stress toxins, resulting in an energy boost during exercise, sustained energy, increased stamina & endurance, and reduced exhaustion. Glutathione also fights against other toxins in the body such as toxins from sun, pollution, junk food, stress, and lack of sleep amount others.