Energy balance
Repeated intermittent cold exposure (15-16°C for 6 hours/day over 10 days) recruits human brown adipose tissue (BAT) and increases nonshivering thermogenesis (NST) without requiring skeletal muscle mitochondrial uncoupling or white adipose tissue browning.
To recruit brown fat and boost metabolism, expose yourself to mild cold (15-16°C or ~59-61°F) for 6 hours daily over 10 days. Start with shorter sessions (2 hours) and build up. You do not need to shiver; the goal is mild, tolerable cold. Over time, you will feel more comfortable in the cold, and your body will increase its heat production (nonshivering thermogenesis) via brown fat, potentially increasing daily energy expenditure.
Here, we show that a 10-day cold acclimation protocol in humans increases BAT activity in parallel with an increase in nonshivering thermogenesis (NST)... The combined results suggest that a variable indoor environment with frequent cold exposures might be an acceptable and economic manner to increase energy expenditure
Why this rating
Randomized controlled trial design with objective PET/CT and calorimetry measures, though small sample size (n=17).
Source
Cold acclimation recruits human brown fat and increases nonshivering thermogenesis
Anouk A.J.J. van der Lans et al. · Journal of Clinical Investigation · 2013
DOI 10.1172/jci68993
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