We live at 72 degrees. Most Americans experience temperature changes during the two minutes it takes us to walk across a parking lot. We, in fact, on average spend about 93 percent of our time indoors or in a car. Entire cities wouldn’t exist had we not developed air conditioning. Like Las Vegas, where I live.
This type of precise, always-comfortable climate control has been around just 0.004 percent of the time we humans have been on earth. And across 2.5 million years, we developed pretty amazing responses to deal with too hot or too cold. Responses that, when activated, might actually come with health and fitness benefits.
The problem is that we’re not activating those responses any more. And we’re losing a step because of it. This is a topic I explore in depth in my forthcoming book The Comfort Crisis.
This is a topic I’ve been thinking about now that summer has rendered my garage gym a sweltering 100 degrees. There is nothing quite like exercising in an oven. But it turns out that there are many benefits of exercising in the heat. Like the following:
- We become more fit. This study found that cyclists who trained in the heat for 10 days increased their cardiac output and blood plasma levels (metrics that correlate to performance) more than a group who did the same training in a normal-temp room. Heat training also seems to cause “inexplicable changes to the heart’s left ventrical,” which can improve how much blood your body sends to your muscles.
- Our body activates “heat shock proteins.” Some of them are potent inflammation killers. Scientists at Harvard say inflammation is the “common factor in many diseases.” Heat shock proteins have even been linked to longevity.
- Our brain and spinal cord release BDNF, a chemical that promotes the survival and growth of neurons in our brain, says the NIH. Too little BDNF is linked to brain problems like depression and Alzheimer’s.
- We sweat a lot, which removes garbage from our body. Our liver, kidneys, and other organs detoxify our body, but sweating profusely helps them out.
So instead of escaping into the air-conditioned gym for every workout, we should all try exercising in heat this summer. We’ll be fitter and healthier for it. Yes, it’ll be uncomfortable. But but the research shoes that within 10 days we become “acclimated” to the heat, and it don’t feel so bad.
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