Video·2 min read·May 2026

Navigating the Cold: What You Should Know About Whole-Body Cryotherapy

Cold Therapy • 3 min read • Based on research by Justin Carrard, Anne Chantal Lambert, Daniel Genné (2017)

Imagine stepping into a chamber filled with icy air, your body enveloped in an invigorating chill. Whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) has gained popularity among athletes and wellness enthusiasts alike, promising benefits such as reduced inflammation, improved recovery, and enhanced overall well-being. Yet, like any wellness protocol, it carries its own set of considerations.

Recent research has illuminated a rare but concerning side effect of WBC: transient global amnesia (TGA). This intriguing phenomenon raises questions about the safety of this increasingly popular therapy. Let’s explore the findings of a case study that highlights both the potential benefits and risks associated with whole-body cryotherapy.

Understanding Transient Global Amnesia

Transient global amnesia is a temporary condition characterized by sudden memory loss, specifically the inability to form new memories. This condition can last up to 24 hours and is typically free of other neurological issues.

A case reported by Carrard and colleagues involved a 63-year-old man who experienced TGA shortly after a WBC session. While he fully recovered within a day, the incident underscores that the effects of WBC may not be as benign as once thought.

The Mechanism Behind Whole-Body Cryotherapy

Whole-body cryotherapy involves exposure to extremely cold temperatures, typically between -110°C and -140°C, for a brief period of 2 to 5 minutes. This drastic drop in temperature triggers several physiological responses in the body.

Initially, the cold causes blood vessels to constrict, reducing blood flow to the skin and extremities. This process decreases inflammation and can alleviate pain. However, the study suggests that the resulting physiological changes may also affect brain function in rare cases, leading to TGA.

Balancing Benefits and Risks

The allure of WBC is its potential to enhance recovery and improve well-being. It is often used for treating conditions like arthritis and muscle soreness and is popular in sports medicine.

However, the case of transient global amnesia highlights the importance of caution. While most individuals may not experience significant adverse effects, those with certain risk factors—such as a history of migraines or vascular issues—should approach WBC with care. The authors of the study emphasize the need for further research to fully understand the safety profile of this therapy.

Key Takeaways

Whole-body cryotherapy can provide benefits such as reduced inflammation and improved recovery, but it is not without risks.
Transient global amnesia is a rare but serious condition that can occur after WBC, emphasizing the need for careful consideration.
Consult with a healthcare professional before engaging in WBC, especially if you have pre-existing health conditions.

Based on: Transient global amnesia following a whole-body cryotherapy session
Justin Carrard, Anne Chantal Lambert, Daniel Genné (2017). BMJ Case Reports

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Transient global amnesia following a whole-body cryotherapy session

A Single Case, A Large Question

This is a case report. One man. One session. And yet it deserves serious attention, because it asks a question that the whole-body cryotherapy literature has largely avoided: what happens to the brain when you expose the entire body to temperatures of minus 110 to minus 140 degrees Celsius?

The answer, in this instance, was transient global amnesia. A 63-year-old man stepped into a cryo-chamber, stepped out, and thirty minutes later couldn't remember his PIN. Couldn't remember whether his mother was alive. Couldn't remember having prostate surgery. He recovered fully within 24 hours — as TGA almost always resolves — but he retained a permanent gap in memory covering the three to four hours surrounding the session. He still has it, a year later.

The authors are careful not to claim causation. They acknowledge this might be coincidence. But cold exposure is already on the known trigger list for TGA, alongside Valsalva maneuvers, emotional stress, pain, and sexual intercourse. The physiological pathway they propose is elegant and plausible: extreme cold triggers vasoconstriction, potentially constricting cerebral vessels, or provokes a Valsalva-like response that raises venous pressure in the jugular system, backing up into the medial temporal lobes, impairing hippocampal perfusion. The hippocampus is where short-term memory is consolidated. Disrupt its blood supply, and memory formation stops.

The same physiological force that makes cryotherapy useful — sudden, dramatic vasoconstriction — is precisely what makes it worth approaching with respect.

What the Broader Literature Says

A 2020 dose-response study on whole-body cryotherapy found something worth connecting here: after the first session, heart rate variability and parasympathetic activity increased significantly, and norepinephrine surged. But by the fifth session, these effects had substantially diminished. The body habituates. The autonomic nervous system learns to modulate the shock.

This matters for the amnesia case because habituation implies that early exposures are the most physiologically extreme. The man in this report was on only his second session. His nervous system hadn't adapted. The vascular response would have been maximal.

Where the Field Is Honest

The authors make a point that more WBC researchers should make: most studies don't actively monitor for adverse events. They're not designed to catch them. They use small samples, mostly young male athletes, with no double-blinding. The anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects have reasonable support. The safety profile — especially for older populations, or those with vascular risk factors — is genuinely unknown.

This patient had dyslipidemia, borderline blood sugar, vitamin D deficiency, and a history of stress at work. He was 63. He was not the typical WBC study participant.

The Practical Recommendation

If you are over 50, if you have a history of migraines, cardiovascular issues, or vascular disease — tell the operator before you step into a cryo-chamber. And be honest with yourself about what you're bringing into that session. Stress is a known TGA trigger. If you're walking in exhausted and cortisol-flooded, you are already partway there.

Cold water immersion — a plunge pool, a cold shower, a lake — gives you meaningful control over the process. You can exit. You can pace the exposure. A sealed cryo-chamber at minus 130 does not offer that same modulation. The physiological load is compressed into two minutes with no gradient, no gradual adaptation. That's useful for recovery protocols in healthy, young athletes. It deserves more scrutiny in everyone else.

The Surprising Connection

What I find most striking about this case is the patient's own perspective, buried at the end of the paper. He notes the stress at work as a possible contributing factor. And then he adds that WBC had been genuinely helpful for his shoulder pain — and that he and his wife are now anxious about returning to it.

That's the real cost here. Not the amnesia, which resolved. It's the loss of a therapy that was actually working. Risk tolerance isn't just about statistics. It's personal. And for this man, one frightening episode was enough to close the door on something beneficial. Better screening, better informed consent, better adverse event monitoring — these aren't just academic concerns. They protect the therapy itself from being abandoned by the people who might benefit most.

Transient global amnesia following a whole-body cryotherapy session

Navigating the Cold: What You Should Know About Whole-Body Cryotherapy

Understanding Transient Global Amnesia

The Mechanism Behind Whole-Body Cryotherapy

Balancing Benefits and Risks

Key Takeaways

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