Since the last few months, I’m trying a series of hacks to drastically increase body energy and reduce weight. With the help of a series of activities, I have reduced some 16Kg in 60 days. Yes, now I’m 68KG from 84KG. I have decided to document all my personal experiences here.
Out of all the bio hacks my favorite is Hot and Cold BioHacking.
Biohacking or body hacking in simple terms can be defined as – to enhance your body, mind and sleep with the help of science, technology and wearables. The concept of biohacking is a brilliant blend of many do-it-yourself methods one can incorporate in their daily life to make it more healthy, productive and peaceful. It mostly revolves around making changes in the diet and lifestyle to improve the body’s functionality. Also, you can monitor the progress using various wearables or tech togs.
Though there are endless ways to do biohacking, the fundamental idea remains the same – make the body and mind faster, smarter and productive. Along with uplifting mood, mind and energy using music, and transforming irregular sleep patterns through circadian rhythm, there are excellent hot and cold biohacking techniques to improve our body’s overall performance.
Index of Page
What is Hot and Cold Biohacking?
Hot and cold biohacking is a technique of contrast therapy. You need to combine steam, sauna, cold shower, swimming and other hot and cold therapy to relieve body pain and perk up energy. Combining these techniques are simple, effective and relatively low-risk treatment. Let’s look at both these therapies separately:
Understanding Cold Biohacking Therapy
The use of very cold temperatures on the body has therapeutic benefits. It is commonly known as cryotherapy. The muscles contract, pain and inflammation, is lowered because it causes vasoconstriction of the body’s blood vessels. Applying cold therapy has several advantages: improved sleep, great immune response, weight loss, speedy recovery from injury and more. Swimming, ice bath, and cold shower are some of the ways to perform cold biohacking.
Understanding Hot Biohacking Therapy
Commonly known as thermotherapy, the use of heat on the body increases circulation and muscle flexibility. Heat therapy works by dilating blood vessels, which improves the blood flow, especially in a painful area. This also increases the oxygen flow and nutrients to the muscles that certainly helps in healing damaged tissues. However, moist heat is better than dry heat, because moist heat penetrates deep tissue faster than dry heat. Steam, sauna, hot baths, and steamed towels are some ways to perform hot biohacking.
What are the benefits of Hot and Cold Biohacking?
For sure, both hot and cold biohacking processes bring in excellent benefits to the table. While many argue choosing one over another might be more beneficial, sometimes to obtain enough relief, you must go for contrast therapy. Here are some great benefits when you combine both treatments.
- Improves blood circulation
- Lowers blood pressure
- Relieves stress
- Clears congestion
- Promotes skin health
- Hastens recovery after a workout
- Burns calories
- Boosts the immune system
- Relieves joint aches
- Helps in recurring stains/sprains (foot, neck, shoulder, knee, ankle or more)
- Relaxes swelling in the body
- Reduces muscle spasms
- Helps in lower back pain
- Aids in reducing lactic acid
- Lowers inflammation
- Decreases cortisol level
- Fights several infections
Some studies also suggest contrast therapy could relieve acute low back pain in some patients. More than anything, this therapy is a natural way to get rid of several issues. The key to effective contrast therapy is persistence, so if you see great results, then keep the treatment alive until you are fully recovered.
How to perform Hot and Cold Biohacking? A step-by-step guide:
Over a few months, a series of bio hacks have helped me drastically increase body energy and reduce weight. I met the target of reducing over 15kg with the help of regular bio-hack techniques, including hot and cold bio hacks.
Note: The following steps are based on my personal experience and have worked extensively for me. Our body types are different. Therefore, before trying any kind of body hack, make sure you consult with a professional to understand how receptive your body is for biohacking. As a thumb rule, start slow and build on it.
Step 1 – Sauna
Nothing beats a good experience in a Sauna. For me, a perfect Sauna lasts about 15 minutes. The ideal temperature of it should be at about 70 °C.
For the best result use sea salt, baking soda, and aloe vera to your sauna. Also, ensure you stay hydrated by drinking lime juice extract with apple cider vinegar with 1 litre of hot water. Play some binaural beats to calm your mind as your body heals.
Step 2 – Cold Shower or ICE Bath
After I have prepared my body well with the sauna, my next stop is a cold shower. 2 minutes at 5 °C water will do the trick. It helps quickly calm down the system and preps the body for the next step.
Step 3 – Steam
According to a study, if you take steam after a cold shower, you might get the much-needed relief from body aches and pains. It works as a hormone regulator and helps decrease Cortisol levels. Steam typically lasts for about 5-7 minutes, and the average temperature should be about 40 °C.
Steams relax muscles and mixing it with aromatherapy essential oils like tea-tree, eucalyptus and frankincense will help heal wounds, sores, ulcers, carbuncles, haemorrhoids, and inflammation. These oils have antiseptic, astringent, carminative, digestive, diuretic, sedative, uterine & therapeutic properties.
Step 4 – Swimming
Swimming can help your body relax and give you the much-needed exercise. Swimming is an excellent sport that takes away the impact of stress on your body. It is one of the best ways to build endurance, maintain cardiovascular fitness and tone muscles. In a way, swimming is an overall body workout that works on all muscles. Go for a 10min swim @ 15 °C and listen to #binaural beats from 7Hz to 450Hz (#aplhaWaves #BetaWaves #ThetaWaves).
Step 5 – Sauna
Repeat the sauna experience for 15 min at a temperature of 70 °C. Drink a bottle of cold water or a bottle of coconut water after the sauna session. Both of these options again help you stay hydrated.
Step 6 – Cold Shower
As the name suggests, repeat the cold water shower for 2 min after the sauna with water as cold as 5 °C to help relax the body.
Step 7 – Steam
Again, the perfect way to relax muscles and heal the aches and pains another time. It is essential to perform all these therapies in a timely fashion. It helps when I do it for 5-7min at a temperature between 40 to 55 °C.
Step 8 – Cold shower
Back to the basics that let you get back to normal and makes you feel better and refreshed. Your cold shower must last for about 2 minutes, and the water must be at about 5 °C.
Ensure that the activities are done for about 20 minutes – 2 hours, based on your body’s receptivity.
Note: Alpha waves are neural oscillations in the frequency range of 7.5–12.5 Hz arising from the synchronous and coherent (in-phase or constructive) electrical activity of thalamic pacemaker cells in humans.
What to look out for when doing contrast therapy?
Hot and cold biohacking is a pretty easy and straightforward thing to do. However, there are certain things you must be aware of to increase the efficacy of this therapy.
- Make sure you stay hydrated through the session. The temperature change can cause dehydration.
- Protect your skin by applying moisturiser and sunscreen whenever required.
- Stretch your muscles during hot biohacks.
- Always start and finish with cold biohacks, as finishing with heat may increase swelling and inflammation.
- Increase the intensity as and when you progress and feel comfortable to tolerate a little more.
- Stop the treatment if any particular therapy is causing you pain or discomfort beyond tolerable limits.
- Pain may return after several hours, which is perfectly normal. The therapy could take a few weeks to heal your body completely.
- Adding essential oils and herbs to the hacks can increase the effectiveness of the therapy.
When should I avoid hot and cold biohacks?
Overall, hot and cold biohacks are safe when you do them at a regular interval and depending upon the body’s receptiveness. However, you should avoid doing contrast therapy in specific conditions:
- When you have open wounds
- Circulatory issues
- Have heart issues
- Have high blood pressure
- Deep vein thrombosis
- Suffering from fever or infection
As a thumb rule, you must always talk to your physician to confirm that you can go through the contrast therapy. So, always talk about your conditions openly with the professional to avoid any risk. Remember, these are DIY therapies, and you must start slow and gauge how effective the process is being absorbed in your body.
FAQs
- What is hot and cold biohacking?
Also known as contrast therapy, it combines hot and cold biohacking treatments that crease energy and reduce weight. It is a therapy where the body is exposed to heat and cold alternatively to give great benefits.
- Who should avoid hot and cold biohacking?
People suffering from open wounds, circulatory issues, high blood pressure, and fever or infection should avoid hot and cold biohacking. Like any other therapy, you must always consult a professional before indulging in this form of treatment. This therapy largely depends on the receptivity of your body.
- What are the benefits of hot and cold biohacking?
Just some of the benefits of hot and cold biohacking include:
- Leading to relaxation
- Weight Loss
- Rejuvenation
- Healing the body from aches and pains
- Reducing swelling or inflammation
- How to deal with hot and cold therapy?
It is essential to get the timing right for each of the different therapy forms while ensuring that you are hydrated through the process. Ensure that you start slow, typically these therapies last anywhere between .20 – 2 hours.
- How often should I do hot and cold biohacking?
The recommendation is to do it over weekends when you have the time to relax. However, it is essential to start slow with only a few minutes of hot and cold therapy and gradually increase the timings.
- What could be the potential side effect of contrast therapy?
If you are suffering from open wounds, heart issues, high blood pressure, and deep vein thrombosis, you must undoubtedly contact your physician to ensure that you are not at any form of risk. The risk could be heart arrhythmia if you don’t get the therapy with the right state of supervision.
