What to expect:

The cryosauna looks like a stand-up tanning booth. You undress, put on a towel/robe, gloves, and socks before stepping inside. The cryo-operator will have you close the door and remove the robe while placing your hands at the top. A liquid nitrogen tank attached to the machine pumps the cold air in. Treatments last for 2 to 3 minutes.

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How it works:

When we subject our bodies to ice cold temperatures, our bodies go into a fight-or-flight response that is meant to keep us from freezing . As the cryosauna exposes the skin to super-cold temperatures, our bodies go into “I am freezing, must survive” mode and the blood rushes to our core to keep our organs going. There, it is enriched with oxygen and nutrients as our body works in super-survival mode. As soon as we step out into the warm air, the oxygenated blood rushes back out, flooding the peripheral tissues and flushing out toxins.

How this helps the body, skin, and muscles:

The brief “freeze” activates collagen in the skin similar to laser treatments, improving skin elasticity and tone and reducing cellulite.The constriction of blood vessels followed by the post-cryosauna flushing also flushes out toxins and helps with conditions like psoriasis and rosacea. The procedure also boosts endorphins and speeds up metabolism, pushing the body to burn 500 to 800 calories in the few hours after the procedure (and more over time with regular sessions). The anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect also helps with joint disorders and muscle soreness. Overall, immunity is boosted.

Why it’s better than an ice bath:

Ice baths can be painful, and even after 30 minutes or so submerged the skin temperature doesn’t go below about 41 degrees or so. And by that time, the muscles are literally frozen and pretty immobile. For athletes, this means downtime they can’t afford. With cryosauna treatments, the skin is exposed to dry cold of minus 220 degrees Fahrenheit. As soon as you step out of the cryosauna, blood rushes back out from your core and you feel a rush of endorphins and energy – making for a quick and high-octane return to physical activity.

Cryo at Blue Eden is open Monday - Friday 10am - 6pm

Whole Body Cryotherapy Scientific Studies

Academic Backing

Evidence for the benefits of cryotherapy comes from a body of academic, peer-reviewed reports from various Eastern European Centres of sport science, as well as more recent research from the National Institute of Sport, Expertise and Performance in Paris and the University of Milan [1]. To complement this BOC are collaborating with two partners including two UK universities on research projects with two Super League teams to deliver the definitive analysis of the benefits of cryotherapy to exercise recovery.

Cryotherapy Scientific Studies

Time-Course of Changes in Inflammatory Response after Whole-Body Cryotherapy Multi Exposures following Severe Exercise (2011) – Journal of Human Sport and Exercise.
Study from the National Institute of Sport, Expertise and Performance (INSEP), Paris, France

Nine well-trained runners performed three repetitions of a simulated trail run. All participants were tested immediately (after one hour), post 24 hours, and post 48 hours after exercise, using three different recovery modalities – Whole Body Cryotherapy, Infrared therapy and passive rest in a random order over three separate weeks. Maximal muscle strength and perceived sensations were recovered after the first WBC session (post 1 h), while recovery took 24 h with FIR, and was not attained at all through the PAS recovery modality.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21829501

Beneficial effects of the whole-body cryotherapy on sport haemolysis (2009) – Journal of Human Sport and Exercise
Study by the University of Milan’s School of Medicine

Ten rugby players recruited from the Italian National Team were studied. Tests measured key physiological parameters after exercise treatment with WBC such as mean sphered cell volume (MSCV), haptoglobin levels and other conditions that lead to sports haemolysis – iron deficient ‘tired blood’. Increases in haptoglobin and in the mean sphered cell volume after the treatment period led the team to conclude that Whole Body Cryotherapy was useful in preventing the associated physiological impairments to exercise such as induced iron deficiency.

http://www.jhse.ua.es/jhse/article/view/59