Alternate heat and cold in repeated rounds, typically moving between sauna or hot exposure and brief cold plunges or showers. A common pattern is several cycles of about 15–20 minutes of heat followed by 1–6 minutes of cooling, sometimes ending on cold if the goal is metabolic stimulation. The idea is that the temperature swing itself is the stimulus, supporting recovery, vasodilation/vasoconstriction training, and a hormetic boost to mood, neurotransmitters, and cardiovascular resilience.
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“So the protocol I described of 12 minute exposures to 90 degree environment, that's again, 90 degrees Celsius, followed by a six minute cool down break in cool water, 50 degrees or so. That's pretty cold. I can imagine that you could also just take a cool shower or a cold shower afterwards, that had a very significant effect on lowering cortisol.”
huberman · Benefits of Sauna & Deliberate Heat Exposure | Huberman Lab Essentials · Mar 12, 2026 · 15:10 · open ↗