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The History of Cold Exposure

The History of Cold Exposure

It was "cool" even before it hit your TikTok feed.

Lance Marks
April 17, 2023

Hey 👋 TooCool Crew,

Happy Monday!

and…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 🎉 to the IceMan himself… Wim Hof!
He turns 63 on Thursday April 20th.

While it might seem like the only thing filling up your “For you” page recently, the practice of exposing yourself to cold temperatures has actually been “cool” for centuries.

This week we take a journey through time and explore the evolution of cold exposure:

“Where we’re going we don’t need roads”

From ancient Greece to the Vikings and the Japanese, cold water therapy has been utilized for centuries to treat various ailments, improve immune function, and build resilience.

❄️ In the 1930s

Danish physician Kristian G. Jeppesen discovered that exposing his patients to cold temperatures helped reduce pain and inflammation.

He also found that cold therapy could be used to treat conditions such as asthma, arthritis, and chronic fatigue syndrome.

🧊 In the 1950s

German physician Professor Erich Schönau developed cryotherapy as a medical treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions.

👨‍🚀 In the 1960s

The Soviet Union began studying the effects of cold exposure on the human body as part of its space program.

One of the most famous experiments from this period was conducted by Russian physiologist Gennady Zheleznyakov in 1962.

He submerged his hand in ice water for 30 minutes and monitored the changes in his body.

He found that his heart rate and blood pressure decreased, and his breathing rate slowed down.

🥶 In the 1970s

Russian scientists continued to study the effects of cold exposure which lead to the development of cryonics and cryosurgery.

💀 Cryonics
The practice of freezing the body after death in the hope of reviving it in the future. 🫠 Hey! It worked on Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes in 1993 blockbuster Demolition Man.
👉 Cryosurgery
A medical technique that uses extreme cold to destroy diseased tissue. It’s been used to treat various conditions, including skin cancer, liver tumors, and prostate cancer.

👨‍🎤 In the 1980s

Big hair
Spandex
Leg warmers
Mullets and
Neon everything

And not one of these had anything to do with cold exposure. Not a single leg warmer was used after a cold exposure session. 🤦‍♀️

💪 Enter the age of the IceMan (Wim hof)

In 1995 - Hof sets a world record by swimming under a sheet of ice in freezing water for over 80 meters.

This feat caught the attention of scientists, who began to study his ability to withstand cold temperatures.

In 2007 - World record for the longest time submerged in an ice bath.
1 hour and 52 minutes.

Lets just take a moment here and let our minds explode! 🤯

In 2011 - Hof completed a marathon in Finland in -35°C (-31°F) temperatures, wearing only shorts and shoes.

Let us take a moment to say THANK YOU! 🙏

In 2012 - Hof set the word record for the fastest marathon run on Antartica (Just over 5 hours)

Wim Hof has been called Superhuman, but has shown the world that with the right training and technique it is possible for anyone to withstand the extreme discomfort of cold and learn to love it during the process.

Research continues to explore the growing list of benefits from this incredible practice.