All you need to do is get comfortable, sitting or lying down, and follow the instructions in this 11-minute video: Reaping the benefits of the Wim Hof Method is pretty darn simple. This is why that doctor suggested WHM could help me manage fibromyalgia, as well as other diseases thought to be centered around the autoimmune response. The study also relates the boost to the ECS as a hope for healing autoimmune disease: “Moreover, endocannabinoids inhibit oedema and inflammation … which agrees well with previous reports that describe a decreased immune response associated with WHM practice.”
#WIM HOF METHOD STUDIES SKIN#
Unfortunately, for those of us hoping to get ECS perks with the breathing exercises minus the freezing temperatures, the study says that the freezing element is needed to really get the ECS pumping: “Our results agree with earlier studies showing that aversive stimuli to the skin (thermal, mechanical or chemical) are particularly potent in activating endocannabinoid anti-nociception in higher cognitive areas.”
#WIM HOF METHOD STUDIES HOW TO#
How to stimulate the endocannabinoid system without cannabis The study explains that the release of endocannabinoids due to WHM leads to a state of relaxed, euphoric well-being: “This mechanism might mediate the release of endogenous opioids/cannabinoids in both the periphery (via the descending pain/cold suppression pathway) and the CNS … leading to a feeling of euphoria, anxiolysis and a sense of well-being, which further promotes an attentionally focused (mindful) state that augments the analgesic effect of endocannabinoids.” “This area is associated with brain mechanisms for the control of sensory pain and is thought to implement this control through the release of opioids and cannabinoids,” said Otto Muzik, PhD, one of the authors of the study, in a statement. They expected him to show significant brain activations where the brain’s higher thermoregulatory centers are located, but instead they observed differences located in his upper brainstem. They studied Hof and found stunning differences in how he reacted to cold exposure compared to other healthy adults.
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Professors at Wayne State University published a study on how The Iceman’s brain responds during controlled whole-body cold-temperature exposure. What is the endocannabinoid system and what is its role? The science of The Iceman
#WIM HOF METHOD STUDIES PLUS#
It seems that breathing exercises, plus freezing water, can help. That week, a doctor I interviewed for a Leafly article coincidentally brought up WHM too, suggesting it might help me manage fibromyalgia symptoms because it raises natural cannabinoid levels.Īs you might know, endocannabinoids are the body’s version of the cannabinoids in cannabis they interact with the receptors in our endocannabinoid system (ECS) in our bodies to regulate a large variety of functions and help keep the body in balance, so all kinds of things can go awry when your body isn’t making enough of them. Like many, I was introduced to the eccentrically delightful Wim Hof-often called “The Iceman”-via the recent Netflix documentary, which features a group of Goop Lab staffers doing an ice-cold plunge after breathing exercises. This is pretty cool on its own, but it also turns out that WHM can raise the levels of your body’s natural cannabinoids, or endocannabinoids. It has also led to Hof himself breaking many world records for cold temperature exposure.
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Have you heard of the Wim Hof Method (WHM)? It’s a wellness practice that involves concentrated breathing exercises followed by exposure to extremely cold temperatures, and it’s said to result in all kinds of health benefits.