Hot and Cold Temperature Exposure as Mindfulness Practice

How hot and cold temperatures can be a route to explore relationship to self and stress.

There is a growing body of research supporting the health benefits of using a sauna on a regular basis. In addition to the physical benefits, this article (and plenty of others) suggests there are mental health benefits to routine sauna sits: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/topics/sauna.  

Although there are plenty of health benefits for which I’m an advocate, as a trauma and attachment therapist I am primarily interested in using hot and cold temperatures as a way to learn about our relationship to our bodies, our stress responses, and how we regulate stress. I like the idea of treating hot/cold immersion as an experiment in which we get to play with our relationship with stress in a controlled, quickly changeable environment. The root of trauma and many attachment issues are related to experiencing a stressor (threat), having an impulse to escape or fight back (fight/flight) and come back into safety, but not being able to get away (in which case we shut down and experience powerlessness). Part of the healing process is to bring back a sense of trust and power into our bodies, which is where hot and cold temperatures come in. We can safely introduce the stressor (hot/cold), experience the stress in our bodies, and make choices about how we respond in a way that supports our power and trust rather than overwhelming our nervous system. After all, we can simply step out of the sauna or turn the cold water to warm water in the shower.

Here are some experiments you might try with a sauna, with hot and cold temperatures in a shower, or with an ice bath:

1. Track sensations with a curious mind. See if you can identify the subtle shifts in your body as you begin to feel the temperature changing. Notice if your heart rate changes, if your breath changes, if there are sensations of tingling, pulsing, numbness, sweating, activation (e.g. excitement or nervousness), etc. Also see if you can find where these sensations are happening in your body. Maybe something is happening in your head while something very different is happening in your chest and something different in your legs. This is a great way to practice “interoception,” our perception of internal experiences, especially related to whether we are safe or unsafe. 

2. Identify how you typically relate to stress and try the opposite. 

   1. Do you avoid discomfort at all costs? Do you prioritize comfort because you’re concerned that any additional stress in your life will be overwhelming? Try sitting in the sauna or standing under cold water or in the ice bath just a little bit longer than you might otherwise, and explore how your relationship to yourself changes. Do you start to judge yourself (“you piece of $@*#, you should be able to handle this”) or do you begin to reassure yourself (“we can do this, I’ve got you, we’re going to be OK, this won’t last forever, I can stop anytime I choose”). Can you recognize the fight/flight response in your body (impulses to escape or possibly an increase in anger)?

   2. Do you typically override your body’s signals that the stress is too much? Have you become accustomed to discomfort to the point that you struggle to offer yourself relief and comfort? Try sitting in the sauna until you begin to feel a small amount of discomfort and then take a break. What happens when you listen to your body’s stress signals and respond to offer relief? Instead of powering through the pain of the ice bath, get out and warm up for a few minutes. Play with what it’s like to put your body into a mild stress, then bring it back into comfort, then back into mild stress, then comfort again. What is it like to have a more gentle relationship with yourself than you’re used to? Does it bring up feelings of joy and hopefulness? Maybe feelings of shame come up and thoughts like “I don’t deserve to receive comfort” or “I have to suffer through the cold/hot or I’m weak.” Is it difficult to tolerate the idea that a little bit is enough?

3. Experiment with slowing down. While cold plunges and cranking up the sauna to intense temperatures can provide a helpful reset through shock, play with easing into an ice bath or sauna a little at a time. We live in a society that values extremes and a therapeutic culture that values intense catharsis and revelatory insight. Healing from attachment wounds and trauma can take time, dedication, and trust. Often, slow is fast when it comes to cultivating a trusting relationship with ourselves and the world.

4. See if your relationship with hot/cold relates to your relationships with other stressors in your life. Whether it’s your relationship with a partner, a friend, work, family, exercise, food, substances, nature, etc., begin to wonder if whatever came up during the hot/cold experiment is a pattern that can come up in other areas. For example, do you tend to experience an “I gotta get outta here” reaction when you get stressed in your romantic relationship in the same way you had an “I gotta get outta here” reaction in the sauna? If so, is there anything you learned about your reaction in the sauna that you could translate into your relationship? Maybe you can tolerate a bit more discomfort than you give yourself credit for. Maybe you need to leave, cool down, and then come back. Maybe you need to offer yourself some reassurance, like “Yeah, this is intense right now but it won’t last forever, we’ll get through it and be OK.” Or, on the flipside, maybe you’re in a relationship that isn’t working and you have been ignoring the cues from your body. Who knows? It’s just an experiment.

Whatever you find, bring it into therapy to explore it more!