Health Benefits of Sauna Therapy & Cold Exposure with Dr. Rhonda Patrick

Join Dr. Rhonda Patrick as she explores the amazing health benefits of sauna and cold exposure. Discover how these practices can help reduce inflammation, improve endurance and strength training performance, and even enhance your mood and sleep. Rhonda Perciavalle Patrick has done extensive research on aging, cancer, and nutrition. She is a Ph.D. in biomedical science from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. She also has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in biochemistry/chemistry from the University of California, San Diego. She did her graduate research at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital where she investigated the link between mitochondrial metabolism, apoptosis, and cancer. Dr. Patrick trained as a postdoctoral fellow at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute with Dr. Bruce Ames, where she investigated the effects of micronutrient (vitamins and minerals) inadequacies on metabolism, inflammation, DNA damage, and aging and whether supplementation can reverse the damage. In addition, she also investigated the role of vitamin D in brain function, behavior, and other physiological functions. Dr. Patrick has also done research on aging at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences. This presentation was filmed during Biohacker Summit, in October 2016, in Helsinki, Finland. Check for upcoming events & tickets! Devices, supplements, guides, books & quality online courses for supporting your health & performance: ---- Listen this episode as a podcast on Spotify: ---- Timestamps: 00:00:00 - Dr. Rhonda Patrick explains the benefits of sauna and cold exposure, including reducing stress, improving sleep, and enhancing mood. She also talks about hormones that can be activated through heat stress. 00:05:00 - Learn about the various health benefits of sauna use, such as reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, and improving endothelial cell function, and left ventricular function. 00:10:00 - Discover how sauna use may lower mortality rates, especially for men, and how heat shock proteins play a vital role in longevity. 00:15:00 - Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses how sauna and cold exposure activate genes that protect the body from damage and improve overall health. She also highlights a study that shows how genetic engineering can extend lifespan. 00:20:00 - Explore how both sauna and cold exposure can activate genes that help the body deal with stress, and how cold exposure can increase norepinephrine levels in the brain, which has positive effects on mood and focus. 00:25:00 - Learn about hormetic stressors and how they activate Foxo3, the brain’s “happy“ hormone, which helps with physical performance, reduces inflammation, and increases longevity. 00:30:00 - Dr. Rhonda Patrick shares her preference for doing cold exposure after exercise because it activates the same stress response pathway as heat, potentially leading to enhancements in endurance. 00:35:00 - Discover how sauna and cold exposure can reduce inflammation and improve endurance and strength training performance. Dr. Rhonda Patrick also discusses the effects of breathing habits on neurotransmitter levels. 00:40:00 - Dr. Rhonda Patrick expresses her excitement about speaking with a researcher who conducted a sauna study.