#017 Wim Hof (the Iceman) on Defeating Extreme Cold & Attenuating the Immune Response

Wim Hof

Wim Hof, also known as "the Iceman", holds the world record for the longest ice bath (1 hour and 53 minutes and 12 seconds), just to name one of his many impressive feats. Dr. Patrick and Wim talk a bit about Wim's back story that culminated in him trying out cold water immersion, the relatively recent 2014 scientific publication of the "Wim Hof Method" which includes cold exposure during training, exposure to bacterial endotoxin, Wim's breathing techniques, and meditation.

In this episode, we discuss... 

• (00:00) Introduction
• (02:08) Wim Hof tells the story of how he fell in love with the cold
• (08:35) Activating the sympathetic nervous system to lower inflammation 
• (14:37) Hyperventilation changes blood pH enough to inactivate pain receptors
• (16:24) Just four days of breathing exercises decreased inflammation
• (28:06) How much of the effects of meditation are due to breathing technique?
• (36:45) Cold exposure increases norepinephrine two- to three-fold
• (44:05) Treating depression with cold therapy

If you’re interested in learning more, you can read the full show notes here.

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