Formal Fallacy

Thermal Excercise

So…

I’m trying to do things that make me feel good. Make my body feel good. Make my mind feel good. I’ve been doing things like working out and writing in my blog (sort of an online journal). I read that journal writing is especially helpful for men because we have fewer methods of expressing and dealing with our emotions. I gave it a shot yesterday and was surprised at how well I felt afterwards.

So I looked up more things about how to make your body feel good, and I came across one that is amazing for several reasons.

Taking a cold shower.

Seems simple enough, but there is a problem. The term “cold shower” has become cliché. Everyone has heard of it, mostly as a way to curb sexual cravings, but that’s myth. Since it is such a stereotype, we will no longer call it a cold shower. Instead, think of it as Thermal Exercise.

There is a scientific study going on right now at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine that hypothesizes that human depression may be caused by “a lifestyle that lacks certain physiological stressors that have been experienced by primates through millions of years of evolution, such as brief changes in body temperature (e.g. cold swim), and this lack of “thermal exercise” may cause inadequate functioning of the brain.”

Another quote says: “Exposure to cold is known to activate the sympathetic nervous system and increase the blood level of beta-endorphin and noradrenaline and to increase synaptic release of noradrenaline in the brain as well. Additionally, due to the high density of cold receptors in the skin, a cold shower is expected to send an overwhelming amount of electrical impulses from peripheral nerve endings to the brain, which could result in an anti-depressive effect.”

So I looked up beta-endorphin. Turns out the stuff has approximately 80 times the analgesic potency of morphine! It is believed to boost the immune system, slow the growth of cancer cells, promote a feeling of well being (you would think so if it is 80 times as powerful as morphine), and increase relaxation.

Then I looked up noradrenaline: Noradrenaline is synthesized from dopamine. It affects the part of the brain that governs attention and responding actions. It also increases heart rate, triggers the release of glucose from energy stores, increases blood flow to the skeletal muscle, and directly underlies the flight-or-fight response. It is one of the primary ingredients in many ADD/ADHD medications such as Ritalin and Adderal. It is also used in antidepressants as well as in medication for hypotension.

So the way I see it, after millions of years of evolving, humans learned how to survive through ice ages by not only adapting to the cold weather, but by using it to release natural chemicals in the brain that are very, very powerful drugs. Then we invented the hot shower, hot chocolate, blankets, fire places, central heating, and all sorts of other things to keep us at a comfortable temperature while preventing our bodies from releasing the very chemicals that make us feel good.

I think this is one of the reasons people like cold weather sports so much. Skiing, Ice Skating, Sledding. It is why kids love to go outside and play in the snow. So the question is, have you had your thermal exercise today? I know I have.

Chris