The effect of heat exposure on our bodies
Intermittent Heat interventions as a natural vaccine against the harmful effects of modern life.
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Intermittent Heat interventions as a natural vaccine against the harmful effects of modern life.
Regular saunas are good for your health. Something we often hear, but do you know why?
During the adaptation process to higher temperatures, our bodies protect us by producing more special molecules called heat shock proteins. They are hugely effective in fight against diseases.
When exposed to scorching heat, the body sends out a "cleaning crew" aka heat shock proteins. These little heroes Clean up the 'mess' and sweep through cells. The heat shock proteins strengthen the immune system and promote longevity. They do this by giving you protect cells and boost the recovery of your whole body!
When you are too hot, you may not feel well. The body tries to cool down and works harder so the heart can pump blood to the limbs. Possible feelings that occur are:
These are some symptoms that are strongly related to heat shock or overheating, among others. When the body cannot keep its body temperature on point, a variety of symptoms occur that are potentially life-threatening themselves.
Possible reactions when it too hot
There is a difference between pleasant warmth and heat.
Before that happens, the functioning of your body and brain is severely compromised. As a result, you can no longer perform properly.
We also know heat as something very pleasant. Think of body heat, the sun, a fireplace, warm water, sauna,... For many of us, these forms of heat just take away tension. As a result, heat is linked to deep relaxation, improved circulation and pain relief.
We used to face different causes of death than today. For instance, famine, dehydration, prolonged cold, heat and infections at the forefront. Currently, we are used to living in a comfort zone. Living in comfort, however, has a downside. It makes your body less resistant and susceptible to chronic diseases.
Intermittent Heat interventions make our bodies and brains more flexible and efficient.
Intermittent living is a science-based concept where we administer acute stress stimuli. The more often you administer these acute stimuli to your body, the less stressful they become.
Want to get the best results physiologically? Then combine different stimuli with each other. For example, 3 stimuli or more on 1 day.
The combination of the these acute stress stimuli creates antifragility or imperturbability of both the physical body and the brain's innovative problem-solving capacity.
The results of integrating these principles have a profound impact on both physical and mental health.
Impact heat stress
Prolonged heat has been one of the most devastating pressure factors in human evolution.
Prolonged heat formed an adaptive system based on multiple heat shock proteins (HSP). Heat is therefore much more threatening to humans than cold.
When you feel cold, you can dress yourself, move, shiver, etc. All are ways we can warm up the body. With heat, however, the situation is different. The only thing the body can do to cool down is to sweat.
Our body temperature increases during exercise. From the moment you reach a certain threshold, the brain protects itself and further muscle contraction and heat production is no longer allowed.
This has a disruptive effect on the functioning of the brain and it disrupts the neurological control of muscles, increasing our injury susceptibility.
David Goffin experienced the effects of extreme heat during the Australian Open where temperatures of nearly 40 degrees brought an early end to his campaign: "You see less clearly, you move less well and you feel a bit heavy. Then you start making mistakes."
"While normothermia (comfort) harmful appears to humans, the use of mild intermittent heat stress serve as a remedy Against obesity and related disorders. "
It has long been known that higher temperatures reduce appetite and protect against obesity. This is controlled from the brain (hypothalamus), in combination with peripheral hormones such as grhelin and leptin.
By training our thermoregulation. We can do this by exercising with multiple garments, for example, or by a thorough sauna visit before or after we make a physical effort.
Do you want to know more about the health-promoting effects of heat or learn how to deal with it better yourself? Learn and experience it yourself during our Heat Workshop
UNDERGOING ACUTE INTENSE HEAT STIMULATION IS ONE OF THE MOST HEALTH-BOOSTING LIFESTYLE INTERVENTIONS.
Ever heard of "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger"? The idea is that something that is bad for you in large quantities can actually be good for you in small quantities! Put another way, a short, intermittent burst of something your body perceives as stress, can actually be trigger processes that improve your overall health, slow down ageing and make you more resilient to future stress!
This concept is known as hormesis. The simplest example usually used to explain this concept is exercise.
When we exercise, micro tears form in our muscle fibres. Your muscles are literally torn, inflamed, painful and damaged! But when you recover, they get bigger and stronger! Or think of a dip in an ice bath: if you stay in it too long, you get hypothermia, but if you stay in it for a few minutes, you stimulate your mitochondria for longevity!
Hormesis is one of the most important topics in long-life research. Let's see why stress, which we have long been taught is terrible for you and should be minimised, can actually be good for you. It's all about the type of stress and its dose!
Exposure to short-term heat in this case.
by reducing food intake and increasing overall energy expenditure.
HSP
Almost all cells respond to heating by producing heat-shock proteins. These proteins not only armour you against future heat, but protect possibly even against atrial fibrillation (heart rhythm disorder).
They would also be the immune regulation can induce and play a role in the protect against allergic diseases.
Heat shock proteins are even thought to can prevent irreversible denaturation of affected cell proteins.
Heat shock proteins also appear to act as regulator of the baro-reflex response on severe heat stress and thus contribute to the cardiovascular protection.
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