Do Cold Showers Make You Happier? 4 Habits That Improved My Health w/ Dr Michael Mosley
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- Опубліковано 6 чер 2024
- If you had to do just one thing to improve your health, what would it be?
Our busy lives mean it can be difficult to keep up healthy habits, and with so much conflicting advice out there it’s tricky to separate fact from fiction. In today’s episode, Jonathan is joined by medical doctor, journalist, and presenter Michael Mosley, who is alongside ZOE regular Tim Spector, to discuss Michael’s four key habits to improve our health.
Michael’s latest book ‘Just One Thing’ explores these habits and has seen him speak to singing scientists and eccentric iceman to healthy habit experts and evangelists. And of course, being Michael, he tried every habit out himself. We talk about which methods are the most effective, which he has incorporated into his life, and how he makes his new habits stick.
If you want to uncover the right foods for your body, head to joinzoe.com/podcast and get 10% off your personalized nutrition program.
Timecodes:
00:00 Introduction
01:07 Quick fire questions
03:02 Michael's simple changes to improve health
04:09 Are cold showers good for you?
05:40 How long do you need to be immersed in cold water for the benefits to work?
06:29 Can cold showers improve mental wellbeing?
10:33 Potential dangers of cold water swimming
12:11 Do cultural differences present different outcomes across the world?
13:22 Can these small stressors help us?
13:47 What is the theory behind this working?
15:47 Will this work for everyone or is this very personalized?
18:24 What effects does breathing have on your health?
19:43 How breathing exercises affect our brain
22:13 How do you keep up the breathing excercises?
23:28 ZOE app breathing exercise
25:49 Is there a difference between breathing through your nose and your mouth?
27:15 How important are plants and nature for our health?
30:37 Can exposure to nature improve things like mental health and even gut health?
32:31 Can herbs also help improve our health?
33:03 What are the benefits of exercise?
34:23 What are endo-cannibinoids?
35:21 Are preferences for exercise genetic?
37:05 Is it endorphins that make us feel good after / during exercise?
38:31 How exercise affects us is extremely personalized
40:47 How do we encourage people who don't enjoy exercise to do it?
42:21 Tips to improve your exercise routines
45:24 Are there benefits to walking downhill?
48:13 Summary
50:56 Goodbyes
51:59 Outro
Episode transcripts are available here: joinzoe.com/learn/category/nu...
Michael Mosley’s book is available to buy here: www.amazon.co.uk/Just-One-Thi...
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Have an idea for a podcast? Contact Fascinate Productions to bring it to life: fascinateproductions.co.uk/co... - Наука та технологія
Not buying or reading the daily mail should be one.
Excellent comment. Breath of fresh air ( pun intended) to see this. I will be going for a walk a bit later and if I see anyone with a newspaper ( I shall try to avert my eyes), in all probability it will be the Daily Fail. While I take issue with The Guardian for being a neoliberal paper and part of the same media ecosystem that perpetuates inequality, it is always refreshing if, on the off chance, I see a copy of the paper. A Daily Mirror sighting is even rarer!
If you find a copy lying around, the Fail is very good for lining a cat litter tray.
I’ve read that studies on special forces who are immersed in cold water as part of their training are found to have elevated dopamine for a few hours after. Anecdotally my daughter gets anxiety sometimes and when she was prepping for her last exams she was hell to live with.😊. She’s a brilliant swimmer so I signed her up for a local pool and dropped her off each day before dinner. She’d come out civilised and charged up for another three hours study. Even today with small toddlers and plenty of stress, swimming is her go to form of meditation, and she uses local rivers and beaches even in winter.
If you're retired, like me, taking the dog for a 5km brisk walk every day in all weathers works for me and him. Thanks for a really interesting podcast 👍
Not sure if this is practical, but, if you live anywhere near a humane society or other rescue group, even if you only do it on weekends, there are many, many dogs who do not get walked/run because there are not enough people to do it. I am sure they would be grateful for people to walk their dogs!
Just keep your dog on a lead so it doesn't bother others. And pick up!
Dog walking would hit the spot for a lot of people. I walk every day because I enjoy it. I don’t have a dog but see more folk walking with dogs than without.
Not sure if this is practical, but, if you live anywhere near a humane society or other rescue group, even if you only do it on weekends, there are many, many dogs who do not get walked/run because there are not enough people to do it. I am sure they would be grateful for people to walk their dogs!
@@annm.3599 This is such a great idea Ann, thanks for sharing 🐶💛
Good discussion
I run 5k 3 times a week during lunchtime. I always put my earphones on, zoe podcast is my favourite! 😊
🏃♂
I teach breathing from a yoga perspective which informed the latest practices (as mentioned here). The nitric oxide/CO2 stuff is very interesting. Hardly anyone does their home practice - like many of these things, best to join a group until you've habitualised your practice. I got into breathing exercises seriously when i was pregnant to control pain and the birth. There is a quote ":control your breathing, control your life". Works for me very well.
Doesn't belly breathing cause your diaphragm to drop causing rib flare, and your belly to expand causing distended abdomen. Aren't you supposed to deep breath whilst keeping the air out of your gut and the out breath is the most important
I read that in Finland they had fewer serious Covid cases than the UK and that was put down to the immune boost that they get from their regular saunas /plunge pools. I thought I would try the 30 seconds cold shower this year and so far my partner has had 2 colds that I have avoided 🥳
Great podcast. Thanks for the honesty about not enjoying some exercise!
Great to see both Michael and Tim in the same video! I first heard about the microbiota from a tv programme with Michael Moseley where he went to Israel. It was a long time ago now! I ended up doing a microbiome test when they first became available as a result and following the developments in that area is how I came across Tim's work. 😊
Such an interesting discussion- thank you 😊
It’s very complex, but Dr Mosley and IF very probably saved my life. Thank you.
Jonathan is par excellence the lay person's voice, with an impish sense of humour and feigned (?) innocence/agnosticism. His podcasts are a real delight.Btw, my two pennies worth wisdom: alternate hot (as hot as you can take, not warm) and cold showers gave been shown to strengthen the innate immune arm.
Excellant discussion gentleman, thank you very much. For breathing techniques, and the physiology behind them, I can recommend James Nestor and Patrick Mckeown, who I found when researching breathing techniques for altitude acclimatisation for Alpine mountaineering, and so I now nose breathe at rest and during exercise and when asleep.
Turning the shower to cold after hot works for me and I built up in 5 second jumps to 120 secs. It seems to have reduced my Raynauds symptoms as well making me feel very good for hours after.
I’ve been doing the Zoe Personalised nutrition/health study and can certainly recommend it, and generally I’m on OMAD and 2MAD (one meal and two meals a day) 30+ plants per week, fermented foods etc and lead a physically active life with loads of energy. It’s certainly all suiting me thanks.
I do the same thing as Michael, I have a warm shower and then rinse the soap and conditioner off with cold, probably around 40-60sec. I feel really good after, especially if I was dreading the work day. I’m so glad the time doesn’t seem to matter as I hear people you should do 5min etc. I couldn’t do that long.
Brilliant stuff! I’m exactly the same when it comes to exercise. If I don’t do it first thing, I don’t do it at all, even if I convince myself I will. I do HIIT most days, resistance with cardio, HIIT because I can get it over and done with. Anything over 30 minutes including warm up and cool down is a no no for me.
I started nasal breathing a couple of months ago and now find it very challenging and unnatural when my nose is blocked and I have to breathe through my mouth. I also do yogic breathing. My overall health has definitely improved.
Enjoyed this chat. I try to do the last 30 seconds of a shower on (fairly!) cold & I heard some expert say that getting cold water on the back of your neck is good, something to do with brown fat? My husband mouth breathes & snores a lot but is trying to consciously nose breathe in bed at least & the snoring goes away for which I’m eternally grateful!! I think there’s tape you can buy to use on your mouth at night but OH wouldn’t go for that! If I’m feeling a bit anxious I find breathing into my belly & making the exhale longer than the inhale for a few minutes definitely helps me.
I feel cold showers and ice plunging is akin to electro convulsive therapy. Shocking. I’m always feeling cold, but warm to touch. Have a naturally lower body temperature, but skin feels, what my husband refers to as, ‘like a radiator’. I’ve attempted cold shower with gradual temperature reduction but never get to ‘cold’ water. Cannot bear it. My ambient good weather temperatures are in the 30s, where my husband is in shirts all year round in the UK. Loved the humour in this podcast. Thank you.
Great fun podcast 👍 great to see so many different areas of interest and drawing on some cultural and wisdom of the past to scientifically study the benefit of things like breathing etc. I ‘love’ walking backwards uphill, it releases my hamstrings which otherwise are many tight and strengthens the glutes that are central to the health of our back and posture in general 😃 thanks to all three of you 🙌
Been watching Michael for years! I have to say - city planning and walkable cities are the best solution to exercise. My local council implemented a mini holland scheme where they shut down roads, built more pedestrian and cycle routes. The epi data showed people in the borough now move more. Exercise really is a foreign concept so no wonder most don't enjoy it.
I live on a farm. Contrary to expectation, there's nowhere to walk. The paddocks are dangerously uneven, my nearest shop is 20km away, no paths or public transport
Haha Tim! I thought about Rangan Chatterjee in relation to the ”exercise while your Tea is brewing”, and then 5 second later you mentioned him! I love it when my favourite health people actually reference and like each others work! Because you know that you are on the right tack then! ❤
so enjoyed this session, I teach yoga but love so many other exercise, & honestly go to the gym for fun ,I recommend find something you really enjoy & try out new stuff I pool swim under water with fins & dive for fun, I love static trapeze, handstands, all bodyweight exercise & movement, kettlebells , sprinting, rope climbing, hiking, bouldering & skiing, kayaking , I'm 65yrs female & love a challange 😂
Great! I'm glad to hear Michael's take on exercise. I'm so SICK of being told if I persevere with exercise, I'll come to love it (by folks who chose exercise as a career🙄). 55 years later I still dislike it, it's still like total body nausea. I do it but I don't like it
I’ve been recommended to wash my feet (feet only) in cold water before coming out of the shower. It stops me feeling cold over my body and I do feel less tired
Following Michael's 'Just one Thing', I clean my teeth while standing one leg then the other for a minute each. If I start to wobble, I take deep breaths and it usually stabilises me quite quickly. Two in one!
Good advice staying in the cold water until stop gasping.
I've just started winter bathing this autumn and winter.
The sea water is really cold, and actually rather painfull. Me and my partners get out of the water after the dip and then in again immediately. Every time we go in again it feels a little warmer.
The effect lasts all day! It's like your body is ridiculously happy. And it does lift the mood all day as well. You feel so alive and literally invigorated.
And I have no recollection of getting in. There are steps leading down and I close my mind off completely until my body is submerged. I haver no idea how I do that.
I’ve cold showered virtually everyday for 6 years, it’s been life saving for my depression and anxiety….I do 3-4 mins….it’s addictive
Very interesting - nice to combine both anecdotal and scientific evidence. Some excellent pointers for new research I would suggest.
James Nestor's book Breath gives a really interesting overview on breathing and confirms a lot of the things that Michael says. The Buteyko technique of breathing (through your nose belly breathing) is a way to increase CO2 and can help people with asthma - particularly when having an attack 👍
I find having a cold shower after a warm clean up gets easier over time , and also find a minute is good and all over cold too .. feel so much better after woods for sure
I have some light hand weights in the kitchen which I use waiting for the kettle to boil, and some ankle weights which I use on trips to the post box or village shop.
Cold showers first thing in the morning were a common punishment at my school for minor misdemeanours. I'll need an awful lot of persuasion before I take another one!
My sport hack is taking a basket ball with me whenever I‘m going out of the house : it‘s big enough so I won‘t forget to use it ; it makes me work my arms muscle just to hold and carry it ; it kind of makes me look cool and young which in turns makes me feel good and prompts me of doing some sport ; I can always find a place where to bounce it (off the ground, off the wall) and when I find a basket case I feel like it was put on my path by greater forces and I’m the chosen one 😎😄🥳🤗
Bonus point : I can always play on my own while listening to the excellent Zoe bunch and other beloved podcasts OR I can find other playfriends to share the fun, it‘s a nice ice-breaker and social greaser ❤
A ball, any ball really, can go a long way to „having a ball“ at life 😘
Try it!
Very interesting podcast, I really enjoyed it. Thanks
So glad you enjoyed the episode 🎧
When you do something unpleasant of your own will , meaning intentionally, but you know it will be good for you in whatever sense, then it is called good stress. This stress is good. It is believed it will be beneficial. It is the perception it seems that makes the difference. So that will teach you how to behave in the unwanted stressful situations. That is what Wim Hoff " teaches" and I agree with that assertion. This type of stress is called a horative stress. Never heard of that word, though.
Ive been doing Cold Showers for the past 2 years... Just a blast of 1-2 minutes following a warm shower. I dunno what the science is, but it wakes me up like nothing else, and having to deal with cold does something to make you really alert. I also do this if I'm stressed out... Its almost like a reset button.
Try mouth taping to stop mouth breathing at night (lots of videos on YT)...I've been doing it for over 3 years and, although it looks a bit silly, it's reduced my snoring and improved my (and my wife's) sleep.
When I was in the police academy, they taught us breathing technology to stay calm under pressure. More cops die from heart attack than shootings
So enjoy these wonderful podcasts!💕 But at age 75, I am not interested in cold showers! Onto the next topic ZOE! Tks.
Possibly the main benefit of fasting and to some extent exercise is autophagy. Not just the repair process associated with stress.
Excellent myth busting chat.
Fascinating talk. I always like the idea that we’re all different and need a personal approach. I also think we’re different at different times in our life too.
Recently, I’ve found enthusiasm with running, and most things healthy, but I couldn’t stand that cold shower treatment. However, I had an incident out running through the woods where I, in shorts and bare legs, accidentally rubbed along a clump of stinging nettles - wow! But I swear it ended up as one of my better performing runs after that. I wonder if it was some chemical component in the stings; like a stress-shock to my system? Or maybe it was just the close proximity to flora!
I know there’s some who regularly flagellate themselves with nettles but I’ll not go that far myself.
Treadmills are fun with a good podcast!
Tim should try a hyperventilating protocol as a start and see how his nervous system reacts . Can’t believe he said that breathing could ‘perhaps’ affect how we feel .Shallow mouth breathing for example puts you straight into anxiety mode …
Why has Tim Spector done an interview with Dr Campbell on you tube very disappointed that Zoe is associating itself with the narrative of Dr Campbell. Im really shocked!!
I think that was done before Dr Cambell strayed into Covid conspiracy theories.
@@vatsmith8759 no its wasn't he did interviews earlier on but then a couple of months back he was on Campbells BS
Thank you
Thanks for the discussion. I learnt a lot. I think I am addicted to these endocannabinoids. I become a grumpy bum if I don't get my daily running fix.
Dancing never seems to get mentioned, why is that? It is a great form of exercise. It combines aerobic and balance exercise. If you do a structured form of dancing like partner or line dancing where new moves or routines are continually practiced, it's also great for the brain. It also provides social connection and a great way of meeting new people whilst exercising. The benefits of dancing needs more research and publicity.
Hi Sue, dancing is an excellent form of exercise, for both the physical and social factors you mention.
We'd love to cover this in more depth in a future episode! In the meantime, keep boogying 🕺
Very True! one must develop virtually every muscle in their body to be a professional dancer...& not be clumpy or bulky, but Toned & flexible...
Couldn't agree more. It is the only form of exercise (apart from dog walking) that I have ever stuck with and that I miss both physically and emotionally when I'm away from home.
An excellent point.
Being generous maybe the fact it is enjoyable means it doesn't ping on their radar!
(Also largely enjoyed by women..)
Greetings from Finland. Cold water exposure helps with chronic pain. It also activates your brown fat cells and helps you control your weight. No common colds and good night sleep are benefits, too. I love avantouinti - I think it is 'polar bear swimming' in English, but we have no polar bears here, just Finns, which is about the same thing - big, blonde and grumpy...
Just a correction to what Michael said… The parasympathetic nervous system actually releases acetylcholine, not noradrenaline. The latter is released by sympathetic neurones.
The breathing techniques are from Singing Exercises too.
I bought a rowing machine and I do 20 minutes a day, to make it more fun I listen to the Zoe podcasts. 😀
Prof Gerald Pollack University of Washington identifies sauna and cold plunges as experiences that improve immunity in general and health span through increasing the body’s EZ zone (4th Phase of Water science) on either side of cell membranes. Some say his 3 decades of work on the phenomenon which is the 4th Phase of Water is worthy of a Nobel Prize.
I play pickleball and tennis. I LOVE these exercises.
Learn a lot from Zoe I cut all Altra processed food and sugar. I prepare my food I exercise. I do weight-bearing exercise. But I’m not taking cold showers. Forget it . I live in Center California maybe when he gets 110 or some thing I would consider it. But I know if I don’t take a freaking cold shower I’m going to be OK so no for me. Because of this, because what I learned from you guys about eating exercise sleep I don’t take my RA medication anymore and I’m doing very well.
about could shower... based on my experience.. once started exposure to cold water, some 10-12 weeks later while always finishing my shower with cold water, suddenly there was a bizarre feeling.. the cold water just felt as pleasant as warm water. Start that day there is no more shivering and actually my body wants the cold water, no more shower without ending whit 2-3 min of cold water at the end.
Tim as always with the calm,and somewhat skeptical logic and science
Also good to realise how many scientists are very sceptical of Tim's 'eat 30 plants' and the role of fibre creed, as well as some of Zoe's over-interpretation of DNA snps.
How lovely it would be to get up and exercise instead having to do stuff for everyone else.
4:25 Not everyone is concerned about having 'fun' while exercising. I have never been a sports fan, either doing or watching. I have, however, been using my elliptical for about 10 years now. It's just something I do, like brushing my teeth. I do a little something on it that might count as 'fun' and that is having my iPad there so I can play cribbage, do Words with Friends, or watch a YT video. I only allow cribbage and WwF during this time though. It's my 'reward' for exercising.
It's not necessarily about 'fun' , there are those of us for whom exercise is like total body nausea. 55 years of perseverance and it's still nasty
I have seizure disorder, and I was always enjoying cold shower. But one time in winter, I had a cold shower, and shortly after, I had a epileptic seizure. I never try this again.
Just don't have any heat in your bathroom in winter, you will get plenty cold enough when you get out. I think cold swimming is good cause you can burn calories without muscle fatigue, when you are lifting and shredding
I do a dance fitness class twice a week. It's brilliant in strengthening muscles and balance, in developing neural connections, and now I learn that it makes me feel good because I'm producing endo-cannibinoids! Don't tell my dance teacher or she'll put her prices up 😂
I wonder if the health benefits of cold showering are not more than offset by the powerful feeling of dread one feels (every time) prior to the experience. Health by ordeal? I demur.
Not into freezing ice water (cortisol provoking), plants calming scenic, exercise daily, bed to gym room listening radio, TV, UA-cam spin bike, rower, weights, walking outside very hilly thus like HIIT and endocaboniods. At age 55 the hills and extreme weather will defeat me, thus your environment is to be considered when ageing.
Tim. I’m a respiratory therapist. I really doubt that decreasing your respiratory rate, with a breath-hold will decrease SpO2. When we do breathing maneuvers with a breath-hold, we actually see patient’s SpO2 go up.
There is some truth in what you say though. Athletes benefit from exercising at high altitude where the air pressure is lower. It can lead to higher hemoglobin levels and increased oxygen carrying capacity.
British schools probably just have a concrete playground?? Many are developing wild flower areas and most important, introducing forest school days or even beach schools! Probably behind Japan though.
If running in high intensity you can feel super happy 😂
good guys
Wim Hoff does a lot of breath control.
Do some exercises while watching podcasts :)
Doing squats while waiting for the kettle to boil works for me
Eating biscuits while waiting for the kettle to boil works wonders for me.
@@eightiesmusic1984 👏👍
@@andrewgilbertson5356 I did go for a walk yesterday and today, so it is not all eating biscuits.
@@eightiesmusic1984 😂😂😂
@@LoveJoyPeace4Life Since my ill advised post I have had a health check. I discovered I am 91 kg ( height five foot seven) which is two stone ( UK) heavier than I was two years ago. Biscuits are now on hold for the foreseeable future and I am on a low calorie diet plus exercising ( walks) with the treadmill to follow.
Luke Stoltman goes for dips in freezing water. Cold water makes him happy.
If I had to have a cold shower over the whole body, I’d hate it! I would feel too cold!
... treadmills and cycling machines are boring, which limits enthusiasm and time spent on them. deal with the boredom separately, i watch zoe podcasts, or similar. this allows me to spend as much time as i wish on the exercise without a problem.
37:41 Unfortunate mixed metaphor there Mosely! lol
20:00 or thereabouts - remember seeing people being encouraged to breathe into a paper bag when they were stressing/hyperventilating? Yes, this is why. And, that technique still works - it raises the CO2 in your blood temporarily and activates all the right things!
Anxious hyperventilating causes an abnormally low CO2 which can make you faint. That's why the beath-into-a-bag technique. To bring serum CO2 back to normal.
Once you stress yourself in the cold shower and your stress naturally drops in a healthy way - you remain less stressed. A cold shower also reduces blood pressure.
Prof. Susanna Søberg Copenhagen has done a lot of proper science on cold water shock
Graeme, Do you have a conclusion from this professor?
@@danoyse8233 ua-cam.com/video/5udactTA5IY/v-deo.html
Hanging around in your underpants in sub Arctic temperatures! Describes wim hof to a T
Feel calmer or kama?
I can't breath through my nose properly lying down fore some reason, so I always breath through my nose at night sadly......
Yes, it's pretty common to have difficulty breathing, often when lying on one side.
@@cassieoz1702 Thanks, but how come though?
@floatingisland544 it's how some noses grew (asymmetric turbinates), any injury to the nose, any sensitivity to dust/allergens ... about 40% of humanity will have one side of their nasal passeges become narrowed when they lie on one side (and slightly increase venous pressure to the mucosa making it swell)
@@cassieoz1702 Oh, right thanks for the info!
💖❤️💖❤️🙏❤️💖❤️💖
Is Michael mosley even a doctor.?
Cold water is invigorating,
Does having a Tommy Tank after seeing MM in the shower , does that make me a deviant? 🤔
Sorry, former personal trainer here, more than 20 years in the field and I disagree totally; exercise does NOT have to be enjoyable. The problem in our culture is that everything should be enjoyable. Nope. We are not rats, particularly lab rats conditioned to inflict to themselves bigger and bigger dose of pleasure, or at least we shouldn't. We have neo-cortexes and that part of our brain allows us to identity desirable behaviors that we should implement in our lives, whether it's pleasurable or not. This is mainly why I've changed field. People are just big, giant dopamine pump and trying to keep the average ape in shape is a lost cause, especially today in this age of instant gratification. As for running downhill this is misguided. Sure, from the point of view of our muscles it's fine, muscles are highly plastic and recover very well, but our muscles don't happen in a vacuum, they are attached a skeleton that contain cartilage. Since most people will outlive their knee cartilage, I suggest that you build calcium in your bone running on flat terrain or uphill, not downhill.
Talking about the calcium, do you think limestone based calcium supplement is useful?
@@zakariahussein962 NO... you are at risk of heart issues with too much calcium in the blood if you take calcium supplements. The body cannot absorb a lot in one go. Better to get calcium from your food - cheese and green veg and tofu and sardines. Magnesium is the supplement most worth taking, this helps your bones retain their calcium. Do not take both Ca and Mg together, they compete for the same receptors.
Nope exercise doesn't need to be enjoyable but I wish it wasn't downright NASTY
Not in Yorkshire! re:the showers.
Please uncouple yourself from John Campbell. He has sold out to a very dangerous population. If you don’t, I find it difficult to respect you.
Interesting, humorous, informative, inspiring...3 adults talking respectfully...I'm going to have to do some deep breathing and have a cold shower to check I'm still on earth. As European types we have to always be aware that other cultures have thousands of years of medical wisdom that has barely any scientific rubber stamping but they know it works. The Chinese are a classic example. Perhaps they have developed the placebo/chi to a fine art. They also walk backwards often chanting and clapping!