A new study out of Wayne State University in Michigan has added a critical last piece to the puzzle of how the Wim Hof Method helps us gain internal balance.
In their landmark 2018 Brain over Body study, researchers from Wayne State showed that Wim Hof was able to voluntarily engage specific brain regions responsible for body awareness and stress management, in order to keep his body at a stable temperature and despite him being continuously immersed in cold.
Those brain regions release something called endocannabinoids — chemical signals that in turn help regulate virtually all of the body’s functional processes: the immune system, inflammation, hormones, digestion, dopamine release — processes that together lie at the root of most of today’s ills.
This presented a potentially earth-shattering implication: If Wim Hof Method practice boosts endocannabinoids, and if endocannabinoids are the chemical puppeteers that correct all these systems in our body, does that mean we truly can self-regulate everything from our mood to our immune system — simply through breathing, cold, and the right mindset?
The big new challenge therefore was to verify that the endocannabinoid system (ECS) is indeed directly modulated by Wim Hof Method practice, and that people other than Wim Hof can effectuate those changes.
To find out, scientists at Wayne State recruited four novice Wim Hof Method practitioners and put them through a 6-week program in which they combined the three classic Wim Hof Method pillars — Wim Hof Breathing, cold exposure, and mindset. They also more clearly defined the mindset component as Hormetic Enhanced Interoceptive Refocusing (HEIR), meaning that in order to elicit the desired hormetic response, one must consciously refocus away from the stressor and trust that the body will do what it is designed to do.
“People ask me all the time what I think about weed. I think weed is great. Cannabinoids have many helpful benefits. But if you are able to get high on your own supply, that’s even better, don’t you think? So while weed is nice, I prefer to breathe and get into the cold. We have scientifically proven that the endocannabinoid system can be consciously activated. Do the breathing protocol, embrace the cold, and access the endocannabinoids in the deepest part of your brain. That’s where the best weed is: inside. We can grow it in our own minds”.
— Wim Hof
With the help of PET scans, the team found a whopping 20% increase in CB1 receptor binding potential in the test subjects.
The result was astounding, and provided the final cog that confirmed the path through which the Wim Hof Method works its magic. We already knew that Wim Hof Method practice has incredibly powerful and tangible effects. The Brain Over Body study from 2018 demonstrated changes in glucose consumption and heat production. The 2014 Radboud study revealed lowering of inflammation and activation of the immune system. Several different studies including this new one from Wayne State have shown changes in mood & anxiety following Wim Hof’s method.
The critical role of the endocannabinoid system in regulating mood, appetite, emotion, hormonal balance, immune function and all these things more, has meanwhile been widely established in conventional science. The final puzzle piece, then, was to prove that Wim Hof Method practice directly triggers endocannabinoid activity, and that is precisely what’s been shown here.
We can now confidently state that through eustress and correct practice of the Wim Hof Method, we can indeed exert control over our bodies, restore all the physiological imbalances that are governed by the ECS, and voluntarily achieve hormesis.
It’s no wonder then, that Wim Hof Method practitioners report such varied and widespread physical, mental and emotional benefits. It really does bring Happiness, Strength & Health to all.
