Many times, depression, anxiety, or any type of emotional condition is triggered by difficult situations that happen in life and affect our neurochemistry and overall well-being.
In every case, it’s important to stay connected to what we’re feeling and take action when we sense that we’re not in our best emotional moment.
For this, we bring you two wellness tools that can help lower stress, elevate your mood, and support strong mental health.
First: A Bit of Science
There are many “little things” (molecules, neurotransmitters, hormones) that affect how we feel emotionally. Let’s take a look at the main ones:
Cortisol
It is a hormone produced in response to stress and situations where the body needs to activate its alert or defense system.
Although it has a bad reputation, this hormone helps us get the energy we need to act, cope with stress, and return to homeostasis (the state of balance). But too much cortisol, for too long, wears you down physically and mentally.
Endorphins
These are molecules naturally produced in the brain and body, released in response to different types of stressors. Why? Their main role is to relieve pain, discomfort, or stress in the body. They’re known as the “natural painkillers.”
But here’s something even more interesting: the endorphin system doesn’t only handle feeling good — it also handles feeling bad. There are two general categories of endorphins: those that act as analgesics and make us feel slightly euphoric, and dynorphins, which worsen mood as a response to stressors.
Dopamine
This neurotransmitter is involved in countless brain and physiological functions: motivation, learning, memory, pleasure, sleep, and mood.
Norepinephrine
Norepinephrine (or noradrenaline) is key in the body’s response to stress. Its primary function is to prepare the body for action: activating alertness, increasing heart rate, and redirecting blood flow to the muscles.
A deficiency of norepinephrine (as in some cases of depression) can lead to lack of motivation, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and low mood.
Serotonin
Released in different situations: exposure to sunlight, physical exercise, social activities, etc. Serotonin influences mood regulation (low levels are associated with depression and anxiety), sleep, and memory, among other functions.
Cold Exposure For Mental Health
Jumping into ice-cold water to boost our mood may sound strange, but there are many emotional benefits we experience through cold exposure.
Here’s how it works: as the body’s internal temperature drops significantly, endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin are released. Thinking back to prehistoric times, this could have been a defensive mechanism: the body automatically releases these neurochemicals in stressful contexts. Because they make us feel better and relieve fatigue or exhaustion, this may have been useful to ensure our ancestors’ survival in hostile environments.
A 2023 study (Yankouskaya et al.) evaluated mood changes after cold exposure in adults who had never swum in cold water. What did they find? After the immersions, participants reported feeling more active, alert, proud, and inspired, as well as less distressed and nervous.
Cold-plunging also reduces stress. Immersing ourselves in very cold water puts the body into a “threatening” situation. This activates the fight-or-flight mode and releases cortisol.
But if we could measure stress, we would see that after a few minutes cortisol begins to drop. Why? Cold stimulates the vagus nerve, which can shift the body from a sympathetic (stress) response to a parasympathetic (relaxation) response.
Cold exposure also helps reduce stress and build resilience in the long term. Getting into freezing water despite discomfort is a form of training. When we do it repeatedly over time, we are training the body to adapt and react less to the cold and, therefore, to stress. It is an adaptive response.
(*) Note: If you are experiencing depression, anxiety, or other mental health issues, consider seeking help from a professional.
Sauna For Mental Health
Andrew Huberman, PhD, explains that when we enter a sauna, dynorphins are released because of the discomfort we feel when exposed to heat. But due to the release of dynorphin (and other very scientific, specific mechanisms), there is also a release of endorphins, which make us feel calm and happy.
Why talk about dynorphins? Over time, this release causes changes in the efficiency of endorphins. Put simply: people experience an increase in their “baseline” mood and, in addition, when a positive or happy event occurs, they experience a greater level of joy in response.
All of this means that a bit of discomfort activates the neural pathways that allow endorphins to become more efficient, allowing us to respond with greater happiness to life’s events.
What other benefits does sauna have?
With just a 15-minute session, we get almost immediate mental health benefits:
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Mindfulness space. The enveloping heat and steam act as a sensory reset that helps us clear the mind, pause, and release the tensions of the day.
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As heart rate increases and blood vessels dilate, blood flow to the skin increases, promoting relaxation, lowering stress, and elevating the sense of well-being.
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Heat helps loosen stiff muscles and relieve pain.
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Improved quantity and quality of sleep. Better rest → better mood, less stress, more energy and motivation.
Conclusion
In this article, we shared two tools you can incorporate to improve your emotional well-being. But there are many more you can add to your routine:
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Meditation
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20-minute outdoor walks
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Physical exercise
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Sunlight exposure
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Reducing screen time and social media
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Exercises to activate the vagus nerve
(*) Disclaimer: This article compiles information from different research and scientific papers. However, it is not medical information and should not be taken as such. Always consult your primary physician before practicing cold-plunging, sauna, or wellness routines.
If you want to learn more about the world of heat and cold, their benefits, protocols, and more, explore our Wellness Journal.
