Cold Shock Proteins

 At this point in our culture, when everyone is cold plunging, and everyone is talking about the benefits of cold water exposure, it's a well-established fact that the cold can be incredibly beneficial to our bodies. It can help reduce inflammation, improve sleep, boost moods, make overall health better, strengthen immune systems, and even assist in weight loss!

These benefits (and many more!) are partially due to cold shock proteins. If you've never heard of cold shock proteins, that's okay! We're going to talk about what they are, why they're useful for our bodies, and how we can activate them. Keep reading to learn more about why your daily cold plunge is so beneficial!

What Are Cold Shock Proteins?

Cold shock proteins (CSPs) are pretty self-explanatory. They're stress proteins that are activated by the cold, but don't let that fool you into thinking that their benefits stop in relevance to cold temperatures. They're found in a broad range of organisms, including bacteria, amphibians, and, yes, humans. Their main functions are to help their host organisms cope with the cold stress and adjust to changing environments. Here are some of their general key functions:

1. Cellular Protection and Recovery: CSPs help to protect your cell from the cold by preventing the formation of ice crystals. With the aid of cold shock proteins, your cells will continue functioning for longer stretches of time.

2. RNA and DNA Binding and Stabilization: In cold environments, RNA and DNA stabilization is crucial to the continued function of your molecules.

3. Protein Synthesis Regulation: During a moment of stress, CSPs control the synthesis of new proteins. This means that they can produce specific proteins that will help in those survival conditions.

4. Cellular Adaptation Facilitation: CSPs help keep you moving. They allow the cells (and, therefore, the human body) to keep on living even in cold environments. They also include modifications to the mobile membrane to ensure power and movement are produced.

What Does a Cold Shock Protein Do?

There are several different kinds of CSPs and they all do different things. The Lin28A and Lin28B cold shock proteins, for example, help regulate glucose metabolism. Lin28A has also been known to encourage the regrowth of cartilage and bone! The Calcium-regulated heat-stable protein 1 (CARHSP1) is another member of the cold shock protein family that stabilizes tumor necrosis factor (which causes inflammation).

We could go on for a long time talking about the different cold shock proteins, their benefits, and how to tap into them, but, to prevent your brain from melting with irrelevant information, we'll just cover the two big categories here.

What is a DNA Binding Protein?

Once again, the name gives us some insight into the function of this particular CSP. DNA binding proteins primarily interact and stabilize DNA molecules. These will help with healing wounds and forming scar tissue.

The Y-box binding protein (YB-1), specifically, helps with this process by assisting the immune response to an injury by drawing immune cells to inflamed sites.

What is an RNA Binding Protein?

RNA binding proteins are similar to DNA binding proteins, but they work with RNA molecules instead of DNA molecules.

RNA-binding motif protein 3 (RBM3) is a CSP that could be a way to prevent brain damage. Recent studies have been very promising on this front, with researchers discovering that stroke patients with higher levels of RBM3 had better outcomes than those without. This protein also offers benefits to the muscles by helping the body maintain muscle mass even when muscles aren't being used. This could be very useful for athletes, for example, who are on break, or bed-ridden patients.

The binding of DNA and RNA allows for finer control of gene expression as well as improved gene targeting. Both of these types of CSPs activate as a response to cold and they both function as assistants to maintain proper nucleic acid structure even in low temperatures and are crucial to the human body's continued function and success in cold environments.

What is the Major Cold Shock Protein in Humans?

Humans have a predominant group of CSPs that are known as the Y-box protein family. The one we mentioned above (YB-1) is the original, the standard, and the most well-known. It's crucial to regulating gene expression via stabilizing mRNA. It helps with stress response, cell cycle control, tissue development, and wound healing.

What Role Do CSPs Play in Stress Response?

CSPs play a crucial role in overcoming the ill effects that accompany a stressor such as cold temperatures. Without cold shock proteins, you might find your body struggling to recover from extreme environments, but with them, your mind and your body can adapt quickly.

This is just one of the reasons so many people all over the world are joining in on the cold plunging trend. A daily cold plunge is a great way to get the body moving toward greater health and fitness! It's also a challenge to those who want to see just how far they can push their bodies.

What is a Cold Shock Response?

Without proper training, immersing your body in cold water can cause a series of cardio-respiratory (heart and lung) problems that can put you at risk of drowning due to what's known as Cold Shock Response (CSR). CSR is caused by a rapid fall in skin temperature. It includes an involuntary gasp, hyperventilation, increased heart rate, and other problems.

You can reduce the effects of CSR by gradually building up to longer exposure and lower temperatures. As with anything, you will want to start slow. Instead of going right for an ice bath, you might even start with a cold shower! Building up tolerance is so important in situations such as these. Not only is your body learning to adapt, your mind gets to understand what's coming and it learns how to regulate responses.

Here are the responses that make up Cold Shock Response:

• An increase in heart rate

• An increase in blood pressure

• Capillaries close on the skin's surface, making it harder for blood to circulate (known as peripheral vasoconstriction)

• An initial, involuntary gasp for air

• Rapid breathing (hyperventilation) can lead to hypocapnia and an increased risk of getting water into the lungs

Some of these things can actually be beneficial if know what you're doing and your body knows how to handle the cold. Vasoconstriction, for example, is only temporary and often leads to easier blood flow and more oxygenated blood. If you're interested in incorporating cold plunging into your wellness routine, it's important to be informed. Please don't expect to be able to handle everything the professionals recommend if you haven't taken the time and care to ease your body into he process. As with all aspects of health, this takes time.

How Do You Activate Cold Shock Proteins?

After all this talk of the benefits of cold shock proteins, you probably want to know how to activate them! Luckily for us, it's not a complicated process. That's one of the beauties of CWI, is that it's available to people everywhere. You don't have to have a fancy cold plunging tub to get started. You can take an ice bath in your current bathtub, or swap out your regular steaming shower for something a little chillier. These benefits are accessible far and wide and it takes very little effort to get started!

You can activate cold shock proteins in a variety of ways:

Cold Showers

Something as simple and accessible as a cold shower can get your CSPs moving. The recommended temperature range for activation is 50-60°F, which, if you're new to CWI, can feel quite cold! Don't feel like this is a bad place to start. All those professionals you see on social media also had to start at the beginning, and that very well could have been tepid showers, then cold ones, then ice baths.

Ice Baths

A good starting goal for cold plunging is 50-59°F. Whether you're going to plunge once a week or every day, make sure to practice CWI with all the proper safety guidelines in place. Have warm clothes on standby, make sure someone knows what you're up to, and listen to your body above all else. If you start to lose mental or physical capabilities, that's always a good sign to switch things up.

Post-exercise ice baths help with muscle relaxation and healing, as well as cold shock protein activation.

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is known to have several health benefits, and this is one of them! The particular CSP that tends to get activated is the Cold-caused RNA-binding protein (CIRBP), which can help with cell protection, wound healing, cardiac health, and tumor suppression. You may already be doing intermittent fasting if you're on a weight loss journey or you're seeking greater eating health, in which case you're already doing good work!

Cold Exposure

Aside from cold showers and ice baths, eating cold foods and drinking cold drinks (such as ice-cold water) can stimulate the production of CSPs. If you've ever eaten ice cream and started to shiver, you know the power of cold food! If you do take this route, however, remember that it is being cold that triggers these proteins, so don't immediately warm up, even if that's the natural response! This is true for cold plunging, as well. Depending on restrictions, you will often want to wait a minimum of 60 seconds before wrapping up in a towel or changing your clothes.

Benefits of Cold Shock Proteins

We have talked about cold shock proteins, some of their specifics, and some of the science, but here are condensed versions of a few of the benefits of cold shock proteins:

Enhanced Cellular Resilience

CSP are the guards at the doors of your cells. They protect your cells from cold temperatures, they stabilize the cellular membranes, and ensure the correct proteins are being produced so that your cells are sure to survive for as long as possible in stressful environments.

Reduced Muscle Soreness and Improved Recovery

Not only do CSPs help with reducing muscle soreness and improving recovery times (especially after a difficult exercise), but many recent studies show cold shock proteins playing a pivotal role in preserving muscle mass.

You will often see professional athletes hop in an ice bath after a game, or use cold plunging throughout the off-season. There are many reasons for this, including preserving muscle mass!

Improves Sleep

Cold shock proteins are known to help individuals find deeper sleep. A cold plunge before bed could be just what the doctor ordered to help calm your nerves, make your body tired, and prepare you for bed. In fact, when the body is preparing for bed, one of the things that happens is your core body temperature lowers. You can speed along this process with a quick ice bath.

Benefits of Heat Shock Proteins

Since we're learning about cold shock proteins, it makes sense to also learn a little bit about their counterpart. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are the opposite of cold shock proteins, but some of the benefits are the same. HSPs are beloved for improving health, performance, and recovery time. Activating these little warriors can be as easy as sitting in a sauna or layering some clothes! Here are a few of the benefits of heat shock proteins.

Increased Immune Response

Heat shock proteins cause the production of cytokines which are a kind of inflammatory protein. They can also bind pattern recognition receptors on antigen-presenting cells, which is a scientific way of saying that they activate the immune response.

Improved Muscle Recovery and Repair

HSPs are key players in the cellular stress responses that promote muscle repair. By stabilizing sarcomeric proteins, HSPs are able to protect your muscles from aggregation from mechanical stress such as exercise.

Heart Protection

HSPs are incredibly helpful in some situations by chaperoning the folding of other proteins. A number of studies have shown that the heart manages severe stress much better after minor stress has been introduced because mild stress produces HSPs to help out. It's kind of like a preventative wave of HSPs are already helping when severe stress occurs, which means there's less delay and more assistance.

Higher Insulin Production

HSPs help with insulin production, but recent studies have also shown them to prevent insulin resistance in rodents. This could mean incredible things for the future of healthcare if results continue to be promising.

Understanding cold shock proteins (what they are, how they work, how to activate them, etc...), could be crucial to your health journey. Cold water exposure has been used for centuries because of its health benefits but we are just now learning the specifics of how cold can keep our bodies strong and well.

Hopefully, this article has encouraged you to dive deeper into the incredible world of cold plunging. You can join the millions of people who are seeing their lives changed by this practice! Remember that you can start with something as simple as a cold shower.

You won't begin to see dramatic results until you establish goals and get consistent, but nothing ever happens without a beginning. Start incorporating CWI into your wellness routine today!