Winter wellness tips: Embrace the cold and focus on conscious breathing to combat stress

Some people believe you’ll catch a cold if you go outside in the winter. Mainstream winter wellness tips often instruct everyone to stay warm indoors; however, staying docile in these poorly-ventilated environments over the long term actually set the respiratory system up for failure. The best winter wellness tip for healthy individuals and children involve intentional exposure of the lungs to the cold environment as early as possible, preparing the sinus passageways and the respiratory system for resilience.

A randomized trial, conducted by Cristopher Siegfried Kopplin and Louisa Rosenthal, reveals that the deliberate combination of specific breathing techniques and cold exposure creates a synergistic effect, significantly reducing perceived stress where either practice alone falls short. This investigation into methods popularized by figures like Wim Hof provides a scientific backbone to holistic approaches for combating stress and illness.

Key points:

• A two-week practice combining a pranayama-inspired breathing technique with cold showers produced a medium to large positive effect on lowering perceived stress.
• Neither the breathing exercises nor the cold exposure alone yielded statistically substantial reductions in stress compared to a control group, highlighting a critical synergy between the two practices.
• The combined approach led to a clinically relevant reduction in perceived stress scores of over 20%, a significant decrease achieved without medication.
• The study adds to the evidence base for the Wim Hof Method and similar integrated practices, connecting them to established concepts like hormesis—where moderate, intentional stress strengthens the body’s adaptive responses.
• Traditional Russian approaches to child rearing involve deliberate cold exposure to harden respiratory systems against the elements.

The synergy of stress: How cold and breath rewire resilience

For those conditioned to view all stress as harmful, the study’s premise might seem counterintuitive. It operates on the principle of hormesis, a biological phenomenon where a moderate, acute stressor triggers adaptive responses that make an organism stronger. Cold exposure and controlled hyperventilation are precisely such stressors. The cold shower acts as a form of hydrotherapy, shocking the system and stimulating the sympathetic nervous system and stress hormone release in a controlled, brief dose. The breathing technique, involving cycles of deep inhalation and breath retention, induces temporary respiratory alkalosis and influences autonomic nervous system function.

When practiced separately over the 14-day trial, these methods showed limited impact on participants’ subjective feeling of stress. However, when combined, they created a powerful tandem effect. Researchers suggest the breathing practice may induce a mindful, focused state and an analgesic effect that makes the subsequent cold exposure more tolerable and psychologically potent. This combination appears to train the body and mind to not just withstand acute discomfort but to build a generalized buffer against the chronic psychological stressors of daily life. This is a direct rebuke to the conventional model of treating stress-related anxiety with substances that dull the nervous system. Instead, this method aims to fortify or harden the body against stress.

This research arrives at a critical time when perceived stress and its devastating cousins—depression, anxiety, and inflammation-related disease—are at epidemic levels globally. The study notes that perceived stress is a gateway to unhealthy coping mechanisms, including poor diet, substance abuse, and social withdrawal, creating a vicious cycle that benefits industries selling palliatives. The combined breathing and cold exposure protocol represents a form of self-administered biohacking that returns agency to the individual. It requires no expensive equipment, prescription, or therapist—just commitment and a willingness to engage with personal discomfort.

Russian approaches to child rearing in cold environments

Historically, Soviet and Russian childcare, particularly in nurseries and kindergartens, included intentional exposure to cold weather to strengthen immune systems and build resilience. This “hardening” practice involved children napping outdoors, playing in cold temperatures, and sometimes cold-water rinses, believed to boost health and reduce respiratory illnesses.

Key aspects of this practice included:

• Outdoor napping: From the 1950s-1960s, babies were often placed in prams on verandas or outside to sleep, even in freezing temperatures.
• “Hardening” philosophy: Cold air was viewed as invigorating, strengthening the immune system, and improving appetite.
• Controlled exposure: While exposed to cold, children were still warmly dressed in layers (sheepskin, wool) and not “overprotected” to encourage natural tolerance.
• Unorthodox school activities: In Siberia, some traditional methods included pouring cold water over children, especially after using a sauna.

While this practice was widespread, it has become less common in modern times, though it remains a part of the historical and cultural approach to child-rearing in Russia. A combination of deep breathing practices and cold exposure during the winter is a time-tested, mind-body experience of toughness that equates to resilience through the cold, winter months.

Sources include:

Adventhealth.com

Pubmed.gov

HistoricMysteries.com