Understanding Individual Responses to Cryotherapy: Insights from Recent Research

Cold Therapy • 3 min read • Based on research by Saul Cuttell, Lucy Hammond, Dominic Langdon, Joseph Costello (2017)

Have you ever stepped into a cold plunge or sauna, feeling the immediate rush of temperature change? This moment of contrast can invigorate the body and mind, but did you know that how your body responds to these therapies can vary significantly based on factors like sex and body composition? Recent research sheds light on these differences, offering a clearer understanding of how to tailor your wellness rituals for optimal results.

A study published in the Journal of Thermal Biology explored the effects of whole body cryotherapy (WBC) on healthy individuals. The findings reveal that not only does our body react uniquely to extreme temperatures, but these responses can also be influenced by sex and body fat percentage. Let’s delve into what this means for your recovery protocols and how you can harness these insights for greater resilience.

Decoding the Science of Cryotherapy

Whole body cryotherapy typically involves exposure to extremely cold temperatures, often reaching as low as -110°C. This process triggers a range of thermoregulatory responses in the body. The recent study involved 18 participants—10 males and 8 females—who underwent cryotherapy, measuring key metrics like body and skin temperatures, heart rate, and blood pressure before and after exposure.

One of the most significant findings was that immediately after cryotherapy, males exhibited a higher mean body temperature compared to females, with an average difference of 0.9°C. This suggests that men and women may experience the cold differently, potentially due to variations in body composition and thermoregulatory mechanisms.

The Role of Body Composition

Another intriguing aspect of the study was the relationship between skin temperature and body fat percentage. Researchers found a strong negative correlation, indicating that individuals with higher body fat percentages tended to have lower skin temperatures 35 minutes after cryotherapy exposure. This means that body composition can influence how effectively your body can respond to cold exposure.

Understanding this relationship allows for a more individualized approach to contrast therapy. If you know your body composition, you can tailor your exposure times and temperatures to better suit your physiological responses, enhancing the effectiveness of your recovery rituals.

Practical Implications for Your Wellness Routine

The findings from this research highlight the importance of personalizing your cryotherapy experience. Since sex differences were observed in temperature responses, it is essential to consider these factors when developing your recovery protocols. For instance, if you are female, you may benefit from slightly longer or adjusted exposure times to maximize the effects of cryotherapy.

Moreover, those with higher body fat percentages might find that shorter sessions or modified temperatures yield better comfort and results. This individualized approach not only enhances the effectiveness of your treatments but also fosters a deeper connection to your body’s unique needs.

Key Takeaways

Consider sex and body composition when planning your cryotherapy sessions for optimal benefits.
Individualized protocols may enhance the effectiveness of contrast therapy, allowing for better recovery and resilience.
Stay attuned to your body’s responses and adjust your exposure times and temperatures accordingly.

Based on: Individualising the exposure of −110°C whole body cryotherapy: The effects of sex and body composition
Saul Cuttell, Lucy Hammond, Dominic Langdon, Joseph Costello (2017). Journal of Thermal Biology

Contrast Collective • Science-backed wellness

Not Everyone Feels the Cold the Same Way

This is one of those papers that seems obvious in retrospect, yet somehow hadn't been studied properly until 2017. Cuttell and colleagues asked a simple question: when you put men and women into a minus 110 degree Celsius cryotherapy chamber for the same amount of time, do they respond the same way? The answer, as any honest practitioner could probably tell you from experience, is no. They don't. And the differences are measurable, significant, and have direct implications for how we should be designing protocols.

The core finding is this: immediately after whole body cryotherapy, men retained significantly more heat than women. Their mean body temperature was about 0.9 degrees Celsius higher. Their skin temperature was 2.5 degrees lower on average — which sounds counterintuitive until you understand the mechanism. Lower skin temperature means more heat was being drawn away from the surface. Women, with higher body fat percentages on average, experienced greater skin cooling but retained more core heat. The fat was acting as insulation, keeping the cold at the skin rather than letting it penetrate inward.

The body doesn't care about the protocol you've written. It responds according to its own physics — its mass, its composition, its thermoregulatory wiring. The protocol should follow the body.

What the Physics of Fat Actually Tells Us

The correlation between body fat percentage and skin temperature 35 minutes post-exposure is striking — r equals negative 0.749, which is a strong relationship. Higher fat mass meant lower skin temperature well after the session ended. The fat wasn't just passively insulating. It was slowing the rewarming process. For athletes using cryotherapy for muscle recovery, this matters enormously. A leaner individual may rewarm faster and get back to normal circulation sooner. Someone with higher body fat may need more time before exercising post-session, or a different protocol altogether.

There's also the cardiovascular piece. Mean arterial pressure was significantly different between sexes throughout the 35-minute observation window. Men ran higher. This isn't surprising given what we know about sex differences in vascular tone and cardiovascular response to thermal stress, but it's rarely accounted for in cryotherapy prescriptions. We design protocols as if one body temperature fits all.

Where the Research Leaves Gaps

The sample size here is 18 people. That's enough to detect the differences they found, especially with effect sizes that large — a Cohen's d of 3.72 for thigh skin temperature differences is enormous — but it's not enough to build population-level prescription equations. The authors acknowledge this. They're pointing a direction, not drawing a map. We still don't have robust data on how many sessions to prescribe, at what temperatures, for what body compositions.

The Practical Takeaway

If you're running a contrast therapy facility, this paper should shift how you think about intake assessments. Body composition isn't just a fitness metric. It's a thermoregulatory variable. A woman with higher body fat who reports feeling extremely cold long after her session isn't imagining it — her skin genuinely is colder for longer. Shorter sessions, or a longer warm-up period post-exposure, may serve her better. The surprising insight here isn't the sex difference itself — it's that we've been treating cryotherapy as a standardized intervention when the underlying biology demands something more personalized. Cold is universal. How you respond to it is not.

Individualising the exposure of 110C whole body cryotherapy The effects

Understanding Individual Responses to Cryotherapy: Insights from Recent Research

Decoding the Science of Cryotherapy

The Role of Body Composition

Practical Implications for Your Wellness Routine

Key Takeaways

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