New Study: the Wim Hof Method vs. Multiple Sclerosis

A brand new study into the effectiveness of Wim Hof Method practice for people suffering from MS has recently concluded with highly positive results.

Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects almost 3 million people worldwide. For those who deal with this condition on a daily basis, the body attacks their own nerve fibers, causing numbness and tingling, pain, difficulty walking or seeing well, and a variety of mental health issues. 

The Wim Hof Method has already been known anecdotally to effectively help with MS, so the time was ripe to back this up with hard evidence. 

And so a group of researchers from Comenius University in Slovakia set up a program in which 12 volunteers with MS underwent weekly Wim Hof Method sessions with a Certified Instructor, practicing breathing, cold lake immersion, and mindfulness, supplemented with daily home sessions of breathing and cold showers. 

The aim was to see if this would improve neuropsychological symptoms that are often seen in people with MS — notably fatigue, anxiety, depression, and cognitive impairment.

The results were incredibly positive. 

The test group showed significantly greater improvements than the control group in areas such as processing speed, attention, and mental flexibility. Anxiety and depression levels were also significantly lower in the study group. “Cognitive fatigue” or mental exhaustion was the biggest differential, with MS patients showing a greater than five-point reduction, compared to a more than 0.5 increase — meaning worsening — in the control group.

The researchers remarked that the results “indicate that, compared to the control group with no intervention, a complementary training program based on the Wim Hof Method might lead to improvement in cognition, as well as to reduction of cognitive fatigue, anxiety, and depression”.

This is huge news, as it opens the door for larger scaled studies to cement the findings of this pilot study. It also importantly spotlights the Wim Hof Method as a legitimate, safe and non-pharmacological option to help manage the disabling cognitive and emotional symptoms of MS, especially for those for whom traditional treatments often fall short.

You can read the full study here, and watch the testimonial of Anuschka managing MS with the Wim Hof Method here.