Whole-body cryotherapy improves mood, reduces anxiety, and enhances sleep quality, with specific enhancement in slow-wave, restorative sleep seen in a recent study. Digest
Cold exposure offers surprising health benefits, and emerging evidence suggests that whole-body cryotherapy enhances wellness and even improves sleep. A recent study found that five days of daily cryotherapy improved mood, reduced anxiety, and enhanced sleep quality in healthy young adults.
The study involved 20 physically active young adults who underwent five consecutive days of cryotherapy sessions and five consecutive days of no cold exposure. The cryotherapy sessions lasted five minutes in a chamber cooled to -90°C (-130°F). Researchers used actimetry, brain activity recordings, and self-reported questionnaires to measure the participants' sleep patterns. They also assessed their mood, anxiety, and heart rate variability during the nights following each condition.
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Participants who underwent cryotherapy reported a 9% improvement in subjective sleep quality, with women benefiting the most. The cryotherapy sessions also increased slow-wave sleep, the most restorative sleep phase, by an average of seven minutes per night. No substantial changes were observed in heart rate variability or other sleep parameters.
These findings from this small study suggest that repeated whole-body cryotherapy is a promising strategy for improving slow-wave sleep and psychological well-being, especially for women. Learn more about cold exposure in our comprehensive overview article.