Why is contrast therapy so good for us?

First of all, what is contrast therapy? Contrast therapy is dipping yourself into freezing cold waters followed by heating yourself up in a sauna or steam room. It’s a health craze that is currently taking the UK by storm, around 3 new saunas open in the UK every single week. With 3 pubs closing every day, will sauna become the new norm for secondary spaces to socialize in?

Well if they did we might live longer, be happier and think clearer. Studies have shown that contrast therapy can reduce a person’s cortisol levels, improve sleep and combat depression. Cortisol is the stress hormone, which we produce far too much of for our modern society. When we were hunter gatherers it’s what would keep us alert when danger was near or ready to fight at a moment’s notice. Now it is reaping havoc through our system as threats are being perceived from stimuli all around us with few releases. The primary release for cortisol is exercise but contrast therapy has shown to not only have similar affects on cortisol levels but also release endorphins and cause a ‘sauna high’.

Quite uniquely to the UK, saunas are also places of peaceful socialization and connection. Unlike saunas in Finland, Scandinavia or Germany which are generally silent, saunas in the UK are far more communal areas where people naturally find themselves chatting next to a new friend for their 15 minute session. There is a growing body of evidence amongst medical and academic circles that these secondary spaces can boost social connections and reduce loneliness in a wide range of people.

The biggest thing contrast therapy does for me is that it provides a space away from the chaos of everyday life. I find it so hard to get off my phone and can often make excuses to not go for a walk, go exercise or take time for myself outside of work or socializing. Saunas force that time into your day whilst being enjoyable, I used to find it impossible to meditate without fidgeting to check my emails or scroll on Instagram but it’s so much easier to breath and relax in those spaces.

If you’ve never tried it before come down to Relaxation Station and I’ll give you a card to make your 2nd session with us completely free.

Sources

Salivary cortisol response to post-exercise infrared sauna declines over time: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12416168/

Britain’s shared spaces are vanishing, leaving us a nation of cliques: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/04/britain-shared-spaces-pubs-youth-clubs-libraries-austerity

The first research into the power of collective sauna rituals has just been published: https://www.britishsaunasociety.org.uk/news/the-first-research-into-the-power-of-collective-sauna-rituals-has-just-been-published

Sauna culture improves physical and mental wellbeing in the UK through social connection and ritual: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027795362600136X?via%3Dihub