# Any benefit to a "reverse sauna?" (extreme cold, not heat) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 23, 2020, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-benefit-to-a-reverse-sauna-extreme-cold-not-heat/912471 "2020-06-23T17:57:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-benefit-to-a-reverse-sauna-extreme-cold-not-heat/912471/1 "2020-06-23T17:57:08Z")
So I was musing about this: In cold nations, like Finland and Russia, saunas are highly popular and often touted for health benefit. That had me wondering about whether the reverse would be true as well - in nations with extremely hot climate, would there be any health benefit in going into an extremely cold freezer room for an hour or a few? (Disregarding the practical difficulties, such as high electricity consumption) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-benefit-to-a-reverse-sauna-extreme-cold-not-heat/912471/2 "2020-06-23T18:19:00Z")
I don’t know if there are actual benefits but there are people who do this for supposedly therapeutic reasons. It’s called cryotherapy. > **[Cryotherapy: Freeze your way to better health?](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cryotherapy-freeze-your-way-to-better-health/)** > > New health trend has people swearing by the benefits of three minutes in a deep freeze ---
**Author:** ![Frankenstein\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ccd318/32.png) [@Frankenstein\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frankenstein_Monster)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-benefit-to-a-reverse-sauna-extreme-cold-not-heat/912471/3 "2020-06-23T18:33:11Z")
There is a reverse sauna called [Cryosauna](https://www.nydgwellness.com/cryotherapy/cryo-sauna-liquid-nitrogen/) Not common but it does exist in [Finland](https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fyle.fi%2Fuutiset%2F3-5353289) (that is a Google Translate link to a Finnish article). OTOH very common in Finland and Russia: [Winter swimming](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_swimming), which is called “ice hole swimming” in Finnish. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-benefit-to-a-reverse-sauna-extreme-cold-not-heat/912471/4 "2020-06-23T21:42:16Z")
It’s not uncommon to use natural cold temps in conjunction with a sauna. Typically heat yourself up, then go outside or even in a icy river or something, then back in the heat. Repeat as you desire. As such it has been very common to do so in areas that are cold and typically have saunas. I’ve used many such ones including a platform in a river heated above by heat lamps so it doesn’t freeze over in that section. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-benefit-to-a-reverse-sauna-extreme-cold-not-heat/912471/5 "2020-06-23T22:11:26Z")
Unless you’re suffering from heatstroke or have a dangerously high fever, I can’t think of any medical benefits to freezing yourself. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2020, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-benefit-to-a-reverse-sauna-extreme-cold-not-heat/912471/6 "2020-06-24T01:39:08Z")
Athletes take ice baths after strenuous exercise. Baseball pitchers “ice” their arms. Benefits from here: > **[Why Ice Baths Help You Bounce Back From Tough Workouts](https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a26788252/ice-bath-benefits/)** > > But some experts warn the practice may hinder muscle gains. … Some research suggests ice baths may reduce soreness after workouts. A [2018 metanalysis](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2018.00403/full) of 99 studies looked at the effectiveness of several recovery methods—including contrast water therapy, massage, and ice baths—at reducing delayed onset muscle soreness, perceived fatigue, muscle damage, [and inflammation after physical exercise](https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19530336/what-is-inflammation/). It found that ice baths and massages were the most at lowering inflammation. What’s more, massages were best for reducing muscle soreness and fatigue… ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2020, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-benefit-to-a-reverse-sauna-extreme-cold-not-heat/912471/7 "2020-06-24T07:09:19Z")
In Nordic countries, the custom is to sit in a sauna or sweat lodge until you are thoroughly cooked and soaking with sweat, then run outside in the snow and dive into an icy pool. In the Roman style baths, they had the Caldarium (steaming hot bath), Tepidarium (tepid bath) and Frigidarium (icy cold bath). You would progress from one to the next in that order. The theory is that the hot and tepid baths would get your pores open, so you would absorb all that warmth. Then, diving abruptly into the icy pool, your pores would abruptly snap shut, trapping all that warmth inside of you. There is a Roman-style bath called Harbin Hot Springs in the hills near Middletown, CA, where they do all that. It’s a new-agey clothing-barely-optional type of place. It’s located on the slopes of Mt. St. Helena, an old volcano. The whole place burned to the ground in a fire several years ago, but they are rebuilding it. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2020, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-benefit-to-a-reverse-sauna-extreme-cold-not-heat/912471/8 "2020-06-24T10:54:38Z")
We frequent european-style spas when we go skiing and summer hiking and there is pretty much always either a cold bucket to dump over your head or a cold plunge-pool to immerse yourself in. I can’t speak to the benefits of it. My wife and I are perfectly happy to join in by getting naked with a big bunch of mixed strangers in hot saunas and steam rooms but we draw the line at the cold water. it looks…challenging. ---
**Author:** ![LegendHasit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/legendhasit/32/8246_2.png) [@LegendHasit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LegendHasit)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2020, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-benefit-to-a-reverse-sauna-extreme-cold-not-heat/912471/9 "2020-06-24T14:16:15Z")
Not sure if a cold sauna would equate to a cold shower, which some claim might help one lose weight: “In addition to upping your calorie burn, shivering causes hormonal changes that trigger the production of brown fat, reports a study published in Cellular Metabolism in 2014.” > **[Can You Lose Weight With Cold Showers? | Livestrong.com](https://www.livestrong.com/article/154168-how-to-lose-weight-with-cold-showers/)** > > Shivering from exposure to cold -- such as in a long, cold shower -- might help you burn more calories over time, but it's not clear whether it actually leads to weight loss.