Shivering can help lose weight!

Losing weight may not be an easy task as it requires great self-discipline and motivation on going to the gym and eating healthy; however, a new study shows that you can now lose weight in the comfort of your home.

Dutch researchers from Maastricht University Medical Center have now proved that you can lose weight by simply turning down the heat at home and allowing your body to shiver.

Turning down the heat is a possible way of losing weight

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The study known as “cold thermogenisis” shows that most household kept their temperature around 21 degrees Celsius. If you drop the heat down to about 16 degrees Celsius, your body temperature will drop at a more rapid pace and your will brain respond by telling your muscles to starts shivering to maintain a stable body temperature. By doing so, the rapid movements of the muscle is not only keeping your body warm, but it is also increasing your metabolic rate by up to 30%. When the involuntary movement of shivering occurs, your muscles are moving so fast that researchers are comparing it to as if you were performing cardiovascular exercises. By shivering for one straight hour, you are able to burn up to 400 calories, which is equivalent to a 40 minute run at a moderate pace.

This is something very interesting because my previous knowledge to this technique had been either working out in cold weather or taking ice baths; thus, still quite time consuming as it still requires you go out of your way to do this. The new of shivering to lose some weight seems like a much simpler; however, it does not mean it is a treat either. Many must agree with me that feeling cold is a very tough to cope with and would not want to be in a cold environment for a long period of time.

In the end, if you are brave on a cold night like tonight, it is the perfect opportunity to turn down your thermostat  and shiver some of the weight off of your body.

Here is a video that shows the testing of “cold thermogenesis”:

References

Cannon, P., & Keatinge, W. (1960). The metabolic rate and heat loss of fat and thin men in heat balance in cold and warm water. The Journal of Physiology, 154(2), 329-344.

Craig, A. D. (2002). How do you feel? interoception: The sense of the physiological condition of the body. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 3(8), 655-666.

Gagge, A. P., Fobelets, A., & Berglund, L. (1986). A standard predictive index of human response to the thermal environment. ASHRAE Trans.;(United States), 92(CONF-8606125-)