Wim Hof Method

[JayPwP]

Hello Folks,

I have some questions about the Wim Hof Method. Would appreciate if any of the practitioners would suggest.

1. Should cold bath be taken immediately after the breathing exercise? If not, then what is the best method?

2. How many times per day can I practice the breathing method?

3. How long does it take to see results?

4. Does this method induce neurogenesis?

Thank you 🙏

[kaypeeoh]

I remember when Hof was in the news years ago. He was using a form of meditation that allowed him to withstand much deeper cold than the average person could tolerate. Kinda like the Ketamine thread, If you could focus your mind on one thing then you're less able to react to a negative stimulus.

[Boscoejean]

Maybe some insights here but not sure there will be answers to your questions in this article:

New hypothesis suggests Wim Hof Method breathing could accelerate brain waste clearance

wimhofmethod.com/blog/new-h...

[Healthy25 in reply to Boscoejean]

This is super interesting. I previously had the feeling breath could play a big role for Parkinson’s and neurodegenerative diseases. For decades I have been stressed (emotionally, in my day to day, around other people, and at work) and I have held my breath a lot!

[Bracondale in reply to Boscoejean]

Interesting! Look forward to those fMRI and PET scan results. I have definitely heard of and experienced myself, 'detox'/Herxheimer symptoms after doing 'breathwork' so this hypothesis does not surprise me. (Breathwork increasing CO2, so dilating blood vessels and increasing circulation/blood flow, leading to increased clearance of waste products/metabolites.)

[ghoegap]

I am on this forum because my husband has parkinson's. But I am the one who has seen positive results from cold water. I swim year round without a wetsuit. It is certainly not ice water. Coldest water temp's probably around 13,14 degrees celcius . I can stay in for 30 mins now. I am 74 years old. The most immediate effect is the sense of accomplishment, and the funnest is the high that follows. Health improvements for sure as well. Sadly my beloved experiences a sense of imbalance with the moving water . But he has felt improvements with other methods recently so maybe next stop: the ocean!

[Boscoejean in reply to ghoegap]

The opinions and thoughts seem to be all over the place:

cbc.ca/news/canada/cold-plu....

"Is there scientific proof that cold plunges work?

Holash says there's little science to conclusively support some of the purported health benefits of cold plunges, in part because it's difficult to find consistent responses across large groups of people, given many factors that change how our bodies respond."

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pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/384....

"Does the Wim Hof Method have a beneficial impact on physiological and psychological outcomes in healthy and non-healthy participants? A systematic review

Is Wim Hof anti inflammatory?

Results: Nine papers were included in this review which consisted of eight individual trials. The findings suggest that the WHM may reduce inflammation in healthy and non-healthy participants as it increases epinephrine levels, causing an increase in interleukin-10 and a decrease in pro-inflammatory cytokines"

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Ice bath deaths: Is Wim Hof-backed cold water therapy really safe?

thenationalnews.com/lifesty...

[JayPwP in reply to Boscoejean]

So no ice baths... Maybe just cold water showers?

[Boscoejean in reply to JayPwP]

Honestly I do not know I just think that caution is required. Sometimes my searches for information find more than I was looking for. So I started out thinking could cold that did not involve complete immersion in an ice bath which might be a challenge for someone with mobility issues and then thought could ice packs maybe duplicate any of the Wim Hof benefits but looking for this type of info I found all ofthe above and information that said ice packs were very good for localized pain and inflammation however they would only help the treated area so there would definitely not be the whole body effects with the ice bath or cold shower. One article that mentioned ice bath deaths said it was important to be careful and never try this when you are by yourself.

[kaypeeoh]

Years ago I was an ultra distance runner and read about Hof's cold-weather runs. I lived in Wyoming and ran daily outside in severe winter weather. I traveled to Arizona for the "Javelina Jundred" 100 mile race. This was in January and the temp was a mild 70 degrees at the start. I was one of the last finishers at 29.5 hours. Afterwards I hobbled to the motel. My wife filled the tub with cold water then added three bags of ice. I forced myself to sit in the water as ice cubes bobbed on the surface. After an hour in the water we had to get on a plane to fly back home. My wife talked to airport staff and they produced a wheelchair for me. I refused to sit in it so the staff followed me with the chair as I hobbled onto the plane. I fell asleep instantly and woke as the plane was descending into Wyoming winter weather. I think the cold bath prevented muscle cramping after the race. I often had problems with muscle cramping after long races. And I was able to run again three days later.