Is it Good to Feel Cold?

Are there benefits to consistent exposure to cold? Should we avoid situations of discomfort due to temperature, or should we embrace the shiver?

Copyright—Ella’s Wool

There is a Scandinavian cultural habit that you may have heard of, as it tends to cause a stir every time it gets mentioned (it’s also common in Russia, but I think most associate it with Scandinavia). In the middle of winter, Scandinavian parents leave their children outside in perambulators to nap while they themselves sit in a cafe with a coffee and a pastry. Lines of prams greet the eye, and nary a thought is given to it. This is, of course, unheard of in America, and would probably cause an outrage and mark any parent who did it as negligent. Perhaps, like me, you have read about this practice online and become curious about why Scandinavian parents inflict this on their children. Cue Dr. Susanna Søberg. 

When I first heard of the outdoor winter nap habit for children, I’ll admit was entranced purely by the novelty of it while living somewhere that routinely dips to single digit and subzero temperatures. Then, when we moved to the farm, I occasionally joked it was so that I could leave my children outside in their strollers without having a concerned neighbor come over and tell me off. Now, a year later, when the thought popped into my head humorously yet again, I impulsively googled it: why do Scandinavians leave their children outside in the winter to nap?

The first thorough response that I found was a two hour podcast by Andrew Huberman, interviewing Dr. Susanna Søberg, a Danish metabolic doctor. She is one of the most respected sources on the topic of heat and cold exposure, and the podcast is a deep dive into her research. It seems unreal to hear that simply eleven minutes of cold exposure a week has been shown to result in extreme health improvements, and that implementing heat exposure as well can increase the results even more. In fact, Søberg credits the Scandinavian love of saunas and ice baths as the reason they are perceived as such a lean, muscular, and healthy people. 

Since I have struggled with regular inflammation issues, bad circulation, and consistently low energy for my entire adult life, I told John that very night that I’d decided we should do cold exposure for one minute every day for the following week. Living on a farm means that our well water runs at a brisk thirty-five to forty degrees Fahrenheit, so we decided the most practical implementation without spending money was to take cold showers daily. 

What proceeded were certainly the longest one minute increments of my life. Standing under such cold water was an instant shock, causing shaking and shivering, and required the use of every ounce of self control I have to stay under the water for a full sixty seconds. I have always been cold, and always hated being cold. I hate shivering, hate the inability to control my own reaction to the temperature. The only way I could bear the showers was to play music to distract myself and move around under the water as much as possible. 

Yet it has been three weeks now, and we’re both still going. It’s now an assumed part of John’s morning, and is the first thing I do once Klaus goes down for the night. It has gotten only marginally easier: I find that after thirty seconds, it feels slightly more bearable and I’m able to go even a few seconds past the one minute mark on a good day. The shower itself isn’t the reason we do it, of course—it’s the effect it has had on both of us. We both sleep better than we’ve slept in years, reaching deeper sleep and waking up more rested than we ever have (even before we had a baby waking us three times a night). I feel more blood flow in my hands and feet than I have in years. I have more energy because I sleep better, and more focus because I am well rested. The truly brilliant aspect of cold exposure, however, is that it trains your body to better regulate your internal temperature. In the podcast Søberg remarks that, in Denmark, spring is a time to put on more layers, not less, in preparation for summer, and fall is a time to wear less clothes, not more, in preparation for winter. In this way, you begin to prepare your body for the heat of summer or the cold of winter. She also comments that the American approach to clothing and indoor temperatures revolves around being constantly comfortable, whereas Scandinavians prioritize training their bodies to regulate their own temperature. We have both noticed this self-regulating effect. We do not have air conditioning other than a few window units, and my cold showers have made me feel comfortable and even chilly as I climb into bed in a ninety degree room, and have kept me warm climbing into a sleeping bag outside in a cool tent.

If you have run into John or I in the last three weeks, you have probably already heard us gushing about cold showers, and have had to deflect our suggestion that you try it, but at the very least I suggest you listen to Huberman’s full interview with Dr. Søberg and see if it inspires you to try any of their techniques for integrating heat and cold exposure into your daily life. Who knows, maybe by this winter, we’ll all be leaving our children out to nap in their strollers in the snow…