Atlético de Madrid footballer Marcos Llorente, who has already carried the flag in the past denialist speeches regarding the use of sun creams and that he is a follower of the far-right Alvise, he has appeared on his social networks walking his dogs without a shirt on a morning in which the temperature in Madrid has dropped to zero degrees. “Like every morning, I take the opportunity to take the dogs out and expose myself to the cold. Many do not know it, but science has shown that the cold, in addition to multiple other benefits, increases melatonin through direct and indirect methods (…) The bad thing about the cold is that it is free and few people are going to recommend it to you. ”he says in the video.
According to Llorente, the cold has health benefits at a hormonal and cellular level. The publication has sparked a multitude of comments, in many cases humorous, that talk about the footballer exposing himself to the “natural selection” and make reference to his intellectual capacity. But, leaving aside the character of the character, what are the myths, realities and risks of exposing yourself to the cold? We can individually analyze the footballer’s statements and find important nuances.
Does the cold raise melatonin?
It has been proven that exposure to cold increases melatonin… in hamsters. As is often the case, human studies are inconclusive, and At the moment there is no decisive evidence that the cold stimulates melatonin in people. In any case, melatonin is a hormone necessary for sleep and many other processes in the body.
A experiment by researchers from the University of Granada for the prevention of obesity found that bathing and showering with cool water (about 17ºC) together with the administration of melatonin helped to sleep and reduce its symptoms, which is consistent with the body needing to lower its temperature to induce sleep. Exposure to cold in the morning can increase adrenaline, cortisol and norepinephrinewhich will wake us up, but precisely in the morning is when melatonin is not necessary.
Does melatonin induce apoptosis and autophagy?
Apoptosis is programmed cell death that allows our body to eliminate damaged cells. Autophagy is a recycling process in which cells break down and reuse damaged components to survive under stress conditions. These processes are in balance: when cells are damaged, they are either eliminated or repaired.
In healthy individuals, melatonin is not associated with an increase in apoptosis or autophagy. Instead, melatonin plays a role regulating these processes when there is a disease, such as metabolic syndrome either cancer. In these cases, melatonin has protective effectssuch as reducing oxidative stress.
Is it impossible for him to catch a cold?
“And I know what many of you are thinking, but no, I’m not going to catch a cold or get sick. On the contrary, it is impossible for him to do it,” Llorente continues in the video. Exposure to cold does not directly cause colds, but if we are not used to it, it can suppress the immune response, making the body more vulnerable to viruses. According to 2023 research published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, a drop of just 5°C in nasal tissue temperature can halve the immune response innate in the nose.
If we expose ourselves to the cold without being accustomed to it, it is perfectly possible to get sick or suffer hypothermia, a risk that varies with each person and depends on factors such as age, body composition or sex. Controlled exposure to cold could improve the vagal tone, that is, the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for relaxing us. This in turn can help reduce inflammation and modulate the immune system. But this only happens when there has been a cold acclimatization under certain conditions. If we expose ourselves to the cold without being accustomed to it, it is perfectly possible to get sick.
Is it possible to adapt to the cold?
The human body can adapt to exposure to cold. Immediately, the cold produces peripheral vasoconstrictionwhich reduces blood flow to the skin and extremities, minimizing heat loss from internal organs, and thermogenesis is induced by shivering, that is, shivering, which is a way of producing heat by contracting muscles.
Long term it is possible to adapt to the coldsince our body ‘learns’ to generate more heat. This involves increasing the number of mitochondria in muscle cells, which produce more energy, and more brown adipose tissue, which produces heat. The habituation to coldwith repeated short exposures, can modulate these responses, and there is less vasoconstriction, less shivering and less stress response, but it is a process that can last weeks or months and, as we indicated previously, depends on the conditions in which it occurs. .
The risks of hypothermia
Hypothermia can occur even at temperatures that are not extremely cold, especially if other environmental conditions are present. For example, even temperatures above 4°C can cause hypothermia if a person becomes cold from rain, sweat, or immersion in cold water. In this sense, the dry cold of Madrid can be an advantage for Llorente’s walks.
Prolonged exposure to cold temperatures increases the risk of hypothermia, as hikers or outdoor workers, who you’ll never catch shirtless, know well. People with delicate health, such as cardiovascular or respiratory diseases, diabetes or hypothyroidism, should also be even more careful, as they may have a inadequate heat production.
A professional athlete acclimatized to intense efforts and exposure to the cold is not in the same conditions as a fan of his team who is watching the video on social networks. In these cases, taking the dog for a walk at zero degrees without a shirt becomes a risky sport.
*Darío Pescador is editor and director of the Quo magazine and author of the book your best self Posted by Oberon.
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