Extended Cut Wim Hof Explains Benefits of Cold Showers
00:00Our next guest is a Dutch extreme athlete known for his ability to withstand freezing temperatures. He's also dedicated his life to helping others reach their full potential. From the Netherlands please welcome Wim Hof. [APPLAUSE] Hi, Wim. Hi, Ellen. Thank you for having me in your show. I am-- You're incredible. You are incredible. I have been looking forward to meeting you for a long, long time. I talk about all the time. Justin Bieber was on the show. We were talking about how incredible you are. Explain how you've discovered this cold therapy and explain it to people who don't know what you do. I'm a person like anybody else yet I wanted to know the depths of myself. So I plunged into esoteric disciplines, into religions, traditions, languages, all kinds of things but nothing could really satisfy me up till the point
01:00that I met this freezing cold water. I went in and I felt like there were no words but I felt this is it. This made me connect so deeply with my physiology, with the depth that we're seeking for which is not in the books but it is inside yourself and the cold knows how to unlock that. So that made me go, like 46 years ago into the cold water. And I never skipped one day of not going into icy water in winter time since then. I'm 62 now. It's amazing. So most people go into-- what's the temperature of that water for instance? That is like, is it 31 degrees Fahrenheit, is like freezing. Yes, freezing.
02:00It is sometimes colder than-- when it's frozen over is when I go in. I make a hole and I'm in the water. And I do my deep experienced breathing techniques staying in the water, it's like deep meditation. It's incredible. You look at that-- we're looking at the video right now, most people would go into hypothermia, not everyone. And you teach these breathing techniques to get ready. But you say there are three pillars to your method and explain what those are. That is specific breathing techniques and then we have gradual cold exposure and we have mindset. And because I went through science it showed to be capable, for example, to defy a bacteria injected. That means a deeper physiology and physiological control over the immune system is there and it
03:00is so simple and accessible and anybody can do it. Yes, And we'll get to the cold shower because I think that's how most people can start, but explain how this affects your nervous system. Yes, by going in a acute, deep, stressful exercise you activate the adrenal axis to spike. And that resets the body to its natural depth by which the physiology suddenly awakens into depth and gets in the control of our will. And that's amazing. Yeah, I'm looking at that thinking I can't do that. I don't think I could sit on that ice. And I mean I'd like to because I want to meet you someday and I do want to try it. But this is something that everyone can practice. Some people should not do it, is that right? Like I mean-- Of course. Yes.
04:00So of course, people with a poor condition or conditions of say chronic diseases and so on we have developed by protocols a method-- we have developed a method that is accessible for anybody even with conditions. And if we go and look at what I've been doing, I have been a researcher of this all. I went to the North Pole, I went up Mount Everest all in my short, into the desert, running without drinking a marathons, and going under the ice and losing my weight. I was the searcher now I found that a cold shower a day keeps the doctor away. As simple as it is that my message to the world is to bring something very accessible and powerful to the human understanding. And it is all scientifically endorsed.
05:00So it is not difficult it is, a matter of doing. Yeah. So if you take for instance-- this is fascinating when I read-- if you take a cold shower it raises your dopamine level 250%. Absolutely. In for example, a depression there is a lack of noradrenaline and dopamine. And going in to a cold shower raises the level of noradrenalin with 530%, dopamine with 250%. It's a natural pill that has no side effects. I think a lot of people here are going to start taking cold showers. I mean I enjoy a hot shower. Does that do anything for you Wim or no? Do you ever take a hot shower? I love hot showers. OK, I do-- I love it-- I do, too but-- yeah, go ahead. Oh, sorry.
06:00Yes, the cold this therapeutical. And once you get used to the cold showers it becomes really addictive. It's a power boost to the body. Afterwards did your veins are so exercised that the blood flow is much better by which you get a lot more energy. And the heart rate is going down because of the millions of little muscles in the vascular system are all optimized and they help the heart, the blood flow go through the system. So the heart rate goes down. People who do regular cold or showers, cold showers the heart rate goes down with 20 to 30 beats a minute 24 hours a day. Wow. That means no stress, high levels of energy. Well, first of all look at you, you're 62 years old as you said. And what time is it where you are right now?
07:00It is half past 12. So in the morning it's yeah, half past 12. OK. And then what time will you wake up in the morning to get in the freezing cold water? It's around between 6 and 7. Well, we all want to be like you Wim, you're amazing. You've created an app where people can learn about your method and take online classes. So if you want to watch more of my interview with Wim you can log on to my website because we had to go a little long because I'm fascinated by him. You can download the Wim Hof method mobile app, it's on iOS and Google Play. And you should learn more about this guy because he is fascinating and can make us all feel better. Wim, thank you so much. Thank you, Ellen. Thank you very much for your great work. Thank you. Thank you, Wim. All right, we'll be right back.