25/05/2025
Environmental Stress: Cold vs Hot?.
Cold water immersion can be beneficial for women, but the temperature does not need to be ice, which is typically recommended for men.Women will garner the same benefits as men do, but at 10-16 degrees Celsius (50-60 degrees Fahrenheit). Below that, women's bodies overcompenstate for the cold severe vasoconstriction and the hypothalamus will perceive this as a severe threat. I am not saying do not do CWI as a woman, but moderate the temperature for the best adaptations (and note- individual tolerance applies!).
Now for heat... For women, sauna exposure is great for health benefits (cognitive, metabolic, cardiovascular...) and for performance in the heat and/or at altitude.Women generally sweat less and start sweating later than men. We vasodilate first, then sweat, meaning our internal temperature that kick-starts sweating is higher than menâs. We also have different heat-loss responses across the phases of our menstrual cycle (and a fluctuating internal temperature because of the changes in estrogen and progesterone). In the luteal phase of your cycle, progesterone increases your core temperature and there is a ""reset"" of your thermoregulatory thresholds; you start sweating later during exercise.
Part of the adaptations that occur with heat exposure, and the change in thermoregulation thresholds, is an expansion of total blood volume; the plasma and red cells in your blood increase. This helps increase your body's ability to maintain blood to the muscles AND to the skin to sweat; which makes hot temps feel less overwhelming, and improve your performance at high altitude.
Some research links:
https://bit.ly/4az8Gq9
https://bit.ly/48DMQQD
View all research links and read full article >>> https://bit.ly/3ZdpkXB