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Why your Wim Hof training might make your children happier
Imagine that you are in a bit of a hurry, maybe even rushing around. You are sweating and you take off your jacket. Feels good... But immediately someone runs towards you and tells you not to take any clothes off under any circumstances. You are also told that you are not warm enough and to put your jacket back on immediately. And better add a hat for good measure.
This kind of parent-child standard situation starts in autumn and repeats until spring. Mums and dads are rarely as insistent as when it comes to turning their little ones into “cold weather mummies”.
"Wrap up warm or you’ll catch your death!" How many times have you heard this sentence? We were fed the belief that the cold is bad for us from the moment we were born. And we pass it on to our own children without a second thought when we should actually say: "Don't dress up too warm and you'll stay healthy!”
The mistaken belief that low temperatures are bad for us stems from our ignorance of what goes on in our body when it is cold:
When our temperature sensors feel cold, they immediately inform the hypothalamus which initiates a series of activities, all of which help maintain our body temperature constant. Among other things, it immediately ensures that heat is directed to where it is most needed. Our blood vessels constrict in the extremities to keep the blood around our vital organs warm. Therefore, our hands and feet are the first to become pale and feel cold, an extremely clever reaction of our body which in an emergency would rather sacrifice a little toe than risk cardiac arrest. So, if our children have got cold hands or feet when they are out in the middle of winter, it simply means that they are healthy and their body is functioning perfectly well.
It is also helpful to know that our temperature sensors first perceive the cold on the surface of the skin. In order for the body's own heating system to be turned up, they must sense cold. If we wear excessively warm clothing, the process is not set in motion. The warmer we dress, the less our heating system works and the colder we perceive the temperature. So, if we parents are standing around in the cold, warmly dressed, chatting away and shivering with hunched shoulders, we are unable to understand the condition of our children. Their body's own heating system is running at full blast and their muscles are warm from running around. If we did not wrap them up too much, they would not be dripping in sweat and their bodies would cope with the low temperature perfectly well.
The more often the child's body is challenged with cold, the better it learns to deal with it. Not too many children get this chance. When our children come home freezing for the first time and are sick afterwards, from this day onwards we will wrap them up warm throughout their entire childhood.
From a medical point of view, what causes commons “colds” are viruses and bacteria rather than exposure to the cold. Studies have even shown that exposure to cold leads to increased white blood cell counts, among other beneficial body reactions. White blood cells are an important part of our immune system and their job is to destroy viruses and bacteria as quickly as possible. If they are not able to defeat the invaders in time and these can spread and multiply in the body, the body temperature rises to maximise defences. If in such a situation we are exposed to the cold, our body can be overwhelmed and we become ill. So for once, what we have learned from our parents is right: feverish children belong to the warmth.
Except from that, we train our vascular system efficiently if we are regularly exposed to the cold. Blood vessels constrict in the cold and expand in the heat. Thanks to this alternation, even the outermost capillaries remain well supplied with blood. They are able to transport defence cells close to the body surface, where they are an important player, when it comes to fighting viruses and bacteria before they can multiply and take over our system.
Another cool thing about regular cold exposure is, that it activates the production of brown fat. In addition to normal white fat, we also carry brown fat around with us. Brown fat cells contain mitochondria, which give them a beige color. These mitochondria are small power stations that burn white fat and convert it into heat. Babies have a very high amount of brown fat which keeps their body warm without them having to move. Brown fat remains in our body as long as we are regularly exposed to the cold. It decreases in the warm season and it increases when it gets colder.
Apart from the many physiological reasons, there are also important psychological reasons for giving our children more "dress autonomy":
Children trust us. If we teach them that they cannot rely on their own feelings, they lose their natural ability to interpret the signs of their own bodies. Indirectly, we constantly tell them that they are too weak to deal with the cold. Getting rid of such negative beliefs is not easy, especially also because a body that is constantly “underchallenged”, will not be able to deal with cold in the long run.
The good news is that it is never too late. Both our immune system and brown fat can be reactivated relatively quickly. It is best to start small: it is about finding a new, healthier balance between warm and cold and conveying more positive messages about the cold. For example, we can give our children a jacket and ask them to put it on if they feel cold. Just like most of us, children do not like to feel cold, and if they can decide for themselves, they will happily put something on.
And maybe, although you can understand this at an intellectual level, it can be distressing for you to see your child playing lightly dressed in cold winter weather. Then just start with yourself. For example, when you have your daily shower, you can turn the water cold for the last minute before finishing. Or, when leaving the house, you can pack the top layer of your clothes instead of putting it on from the start. You will feel your body supporting you and you will feel warmer than expected. Experiment with the cold and question the beliefs that sometimes hold you back. If you want to change your relationship with the cold quickly and positively, I recommend you attend a Wim Hof Workshop. Meanwhile, these workshops are being offered worldwide. A new and invigorating experience with the healthy side of the cold which in the end will make both you and your children happier and healthier.
Wim Hof Workshops with jala coaching
Literature: The Wim Hof Method, Wim Hof, 2020