Parasympathetic activity and blood catecholamine responses following a single partial-body cryostimulation and a whole-body cryostimulation.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Controlled experimental trial with parallel groups; abstract does not state whether allocation was randomized.
PubMed 23991134 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0072658
What was done
The study compared the physiological and subjective effects of a single 3-minute whole-body cryostimulation (WBC; n = 15) session versus a partial-body cryostimulation without head exposure (PBC; n = 15) session and a non-cryostimulation control group (CON; n = 10). Thermal, cardiovascular, autonomic, and subjective parameters were assessed before and across the 20-minute period following exposure, including skin and tympanic temperatures, blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate variability vagal indices (RMSSD, HF band), plasma norepinephrine concentrations, and cold/comfort ratings.
What was found
Skin temperature decreased immediately by 13.7 ± 0.7°C after WBC and by 8.3 ± 0.3°C after PBC, remaining depressed at 20 minutes. Tympanic temperature decreased solely after WBC (-0.32 ± 0.04°C). Blood pressure increases occurred following WBC but were trivial in PBC and CON. Heart rate fell after PBC (-10.9%) and WBC (-15.2%). Parasympathetic HRV indices rose after both modalities: RMSSD increased by +54.4% (PBC) and +85.2% (WBC), while HF increased by +138% (PBC) and +632% (WBC). Plasma norepinephrine rose by +57.4% (PBC) and +76.2% (WBC). Cold discomfort was more pronounced after WBC.
Why it matters
This study shows that acute cryostimulation predominantly boosts parasympathetic tone alongside sympathetic norepinephrine release, with whole-body exposure yielding more substantial cooling and autonomic stimulation than partial-body exposure.
Limits
The total sample was small (n = 40 across three arms), and the abstract does not report participant baseline demographics or confirm whether assignment was randomized. Tracking lasted only 20 minutes post-session, leaving longer-term physiological recovery and functional outcomes unmeasured.
Cited by
- supports Norepinephrine levels increase in humans after just two minutes of cold exposure.