ICE ICE BABY (cue Vanilla Ice lyrics…anyone?)

I’m sure most of you have heard of Cryotherapy by now, but may not have tried. Or maybe you just want to know more before you throw down those dolla dolla bills! Well, I’m here to answer all your questions/demystify the process and... (most importantly) explain the science-backed benefits!

When it comes to all things nutrition and wellness-related, you may as well call me a human guinea pig. I LOVE to try it all. However, as much as I love testing out different modalities to improve the health of myself and others, I would never ever assume a health trend is credible or give my opinion on it unless I’ve personally tried it consistently, journaled my body’s symptoms before and after, did prior research, and measured the results in a sensible, data-driven way.

We can all agree marketing specialists in the food industry have done a damn good job of confusing everyone on what’s healthy and not. Don’t be fooled, you better believe this happens in the holistic nutrition world too! Let’s take whole foods for example - there are PLENTY of unhealthy packaged products claiming titles such as: “low carb”, “natural”, “no added chemicals”, “pasture raised”, “sugar free”, etc. Just because you find it in a health food store doesn't mean it’s legit. READ YOUR LABELS PEEPS! Better yet, head straight to the produce aisle (always on the perimeter of the store) and you won’t have that problem ;) Okay, tangent over. Time to talk Cryo! Below, I will summarize the major benefits and then I’ll go into my personal experience below.

CRYO TREATMENT BENEFITS:

1.Recovery:

Exposure to super low temperatures triggers an anti-inflammatory response that improves recovery time, performance, and increases energy levels and stamina. This is why ice baths are so popular for athletes - boy do I wish cryo was more accessible in my competitive sports days! It helps reduce inflammation throughout the body and relieves pain in joints and muscles. Fun fact, it also increases testosterone in men!

2.Cosmetic Benefits:

HELLO COLLAGEN!! Cryotherapy helps to increase collagen production, which reduces the signs of aging and cellulite...noit that aging is bad, in fact it’s beautiful! I personally would like to age gracefully. Another perk? It burns calories! As part of the body’s metabolic reheating mechanism, studies have suggested that up to 400-800 calories are burned during a 3-minute cryo session (this depends on your body composition of course and is absolutely an average). You have to do multiple sessions for long-term metabolic improvement.

3. Immunity

Cryo helps boost the body’s immunity and metabolism! Many people (my self included) report that doing a treatment energizes their body and improves an array of conditions such as insomnia, sleeping disorders, psychological stress, rheumatism, anxiety, and muscle and joint pain. I found this to be true as well, but not after one time. It took multiple sessions for my oura ring to track significant improvement in sleep & muscle/joint recovery...more personal details on the blog!

I’m happy to report a significant improvement in my muscle recovery, decrease in inflammation surrounding my the herniated discs (ongoing back injury thanks to my competitive sports days schmeh), decrease of stress-related insomnia, and sense of euphoria from the increase of endorphins following each session. The sense of euphoria for me lasts as long as a good workout, but hey I’ll take it! I was able to track the improvement in my sleep with the oura ring. If you haven't heard about this ring, it’s an incredible data tracker that uses NTC body temperature sensors, infrared LED’s, and D Accelerometer and Gryoscope. What the heck does this mean? The NTC body temperature sensor registers your body temperature reading every minute while you sleep. By comparing that value to values from earlier nights, it indicates your body temperature baseline and any variations from it. The infrared LED’s measures blood volume pulse directly from the palmar arteries of the finger. Lastly, the D accelerometer and Gyroscope detects the amplitude and intensity of your body movement. It should go without saying that this sleep tracker is legit, data driven, and much more accurate than a fitbit or apple watch AND you don’t have to worry about EMF’s.

Based on these stats, I was able to directly compare my quality of sleep before cryo and after...and let me tell you, the results were staggering. The biggest difference was my measured sleep latency - the amount of time it takes your body to fall asleep. Before I go into this, I should note that I kept my workout routine, sleep routine, and stress levels as consistent as I could the 2 weeks leading up to cryo (and during) in order to avoid confounding variables. This reminds me of my college lab tests all over again ahh haha The result? There was a significant decrease in sleep latency. Meaning, before cryo it took me an hour on average to fall asleep and by the second week using cryo I fell asleep in 5 MINUTES IN THE LAST WEEK!!

Not only did my sleep quality improve, but my muscle recovery did as well. I measured this as best I could by journaling my symptoms daily from the moment I woke up to when I fell asleep. I recorded the foods I consumed, amount of sleep I logged the night prior, supplements taken, length of meditations, and if there was an increase in my stress levels in order to eliminate any biases. I did a Barry’s Bootcamp (a no joke workout) the week leading up to cryo and tried it again during the 2 weeks using cryo (same instructor, same full body workout, ate similar meals and clocked in the same hours of sleep) and again saw a huge difference. I could barely squat to go to the bathroom the day after my first barry’s class when not using cryo (tmi maybe?). On the other hand, I was barely sore the next day the 2 weeks I consistently used cryo. This may shed light on why most Barry’s instructors have a discount at the union st location haha!

I made sure I was not on my period (or about to get it) during this experiment. This would have been a big confounding variable because (like most women) my energy significantly decreases during that time of the month. The verdict? I obviously love it. I went to cryosf on union st. purely for convenience because I live in the marina, but I heard reboot spa in the mission is great too! The reboot spa in the marina only has infrared and float tanks, while the mission location has cryo included. I read that Steph Curry uses all three in one appointment! Float tank is apparently great for anxiety and supposedly has a meditative effect, but I was very claustrophobic and wanted to get our as soon as I could...just my experience on float tanks though.  Also, I should note this is in no way sponsored!! Just wanted to give my SF people an unbiased review :)

If cryo is out of your budget or just plain inconvenient, use your morning shower as your detox tool!

Simply: 1. Turn the water temperature up slightly. (You don’t want to scald yourself! Think hot tub temperature.) 2. Keep your body under the water, getting all parts wet, for 30 seconds. 3. Turn the water temperature as cold as you can stand it. Again, keep your body under the water, getting all parts wet, for 30 seconds.Repeat 4 times.

Was this helpful? If you have any questions, please feel free to comment on here or DM me on insta if that’s more convenient. Happy Hump Day!!