Why Contrast Therapy Feels Like a System Reboot

My body didn’t stop shivering for 2 hours. After five cold plunges and no heat, even a hot shower, coffee, and a sun-baked car couldn’t warm me. It hit me: cold exposure is powerful — but incomplete.

This Wasn’t the Blog I Planned to Write

Hi — I’m Shan. I am building Xandro Lab, a longevity-focused health brand based in Singapore. Most of my time is split between running the business, experimenting with performance tools, and writing about what it means to build a high-performance life — from Singapore, and for the long run.

This is the third and final post in my series on recovery rituals. A few weeks ago, I wrote about trying cold plunge for the first time after HYROX. Last week, I went deep into sauna and its underrated role in cardiovascular and brain health.

Today’s post was supposed to tie it all together — contrast therapy: the combination of heat and cold. But before I wrote it, I wanted to feel the impact of cold exposure without heat. Just to see.

Counting seconds inside the cold water

So we started the morning with Pilates. After that, I did five cold plunges at Solas Reformative — water temperature somewhere between 5 to 8°C. It was on a rooftop, around 11:30 a.m., the Singapore sun blazing overhead.

My legs stung like needles. I stayed in longer than usual — pushed it to 3.5 minutes. Then again. Then again. And again. I was cold. Shivering.

I thought the sun would help warm me. I took a hot shower. Ordered a hot coffee — chugged it down. Got into a car that had been parked in the sun for hours. And still — I couldn’t stop shivering. For nearly two hours, my body refused to come back to baseline. (Here is me shivering & trying to speak)

Strangely, I felt sharp and alert. Not tired. Not in pain. Just cold — in my bones. Like my nervous system hadn’t finished the cycle. And that’s when it hit me:

It’s not just the cold that matters. It’s what happens after.

Trying to live another few seconds

What we’ll cover today:

• What Is Contrast Therapy?

• What Happens Inside Your Body (Science Made Simple)

• What Happens When You Skip the Heat

• How I’m Exploring Contrast Therapy (So Far)

• Who Should Try Contrast Therapy — and Why

• Where to Try It in Singapore — and At Home

• Why It Matters for Longevity

Let’s get started.

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What Is Contrast Therapy, Really?

Contrast therapy is the intentional use of both hot and cold — usually in cycles — to stimulate, then reset the body. It’s not new. Ancient cultures did it in Roman baths, Japanese onsens, Nordic lake dips after sauna. Today, we’re re-learning its power, with better data and deeper understanding.

The basic protocol: expose yourself to heat (usually sauna), then to cold (ice bath, plunge, or cryo). Then either repeat or rest.

And the benefits? They go way beyond feeling “refreshed.”

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What Happens Inside Your Body

The magic is in the oscillation — the way your body is pulled between extremes and then taught to regulate itself again.

• 🔁 Vascular adaptation: Heat causes vasodilation; cold causes vasoconstriction. Repeating this pumps blood and lymph fluid more effectively — improving circulation, detoxification, and oxygen delivery.

• 🧠 Nervous system resilience: Cold exposure activates the sympathetic nervous system (fight-or-flight). Sauna stimulates the parasympathetic system (rest-and-digest). Alternating trains adaptability — this is called autonomic conditioning.

• 💪 Reduced inflammation and muscle soreness: Studies show contrast therapy can reduce post-exercise soreness, improve strength recovery, and help remove lactic acid buildup faster than passive recovery alone.

• 🧬 Cellular benefits: Sauna activates heat shock proteins (HSPs) that repair damaged cells. Cold exposure improves mitochondrial density and metabolic efficiency. Together, they support longevity at a cellular level.

🔬 One 2022 review in the Journal of Applied Physiology showed that contrast therapy post-exercise led to a 28–46% faster reduction in muscle soreness compared to control groups.
🔬 A 2015 Finnish cohort study also found that individuals who used sauna 4–7 times per week had a 60% lower risk of all-cause mortality. Combine that with cold, and you create a full-cycle stress recovery system.

But that recovery only happens if you complete the cycle. And that’s what I missed.

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What Happens When You Skip the Heat

Let me be clear: I love cold plunging. The clarity, the spike of norepinephrine, the sense of “I did something hard.” But cold is still a form of stress. And like any stressor, if not resolved, it lingers.

What I experienced today — the prolonged shivering, the core-body chill that refused to leave — was my body stuck in a sympathetic loop. Without heat, without active rewarming, it didn’t know how to come down.

In Bangkok, I had done the same cold plunge. But that time, it was paired with sauna. I walked away feeling calm, restored. Not like today — where I was alert, but on edge.

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How I’m Exploring Contrast Therapy (So Far)

I’m still early in this journey. As someone working in longevity science, I come across many interventions. Some are time-tested (sleep, strength training, fasting); others — like contrast therapy — I’m still experimenting with.

Here’s what I’ve been trying:

• 🔥 15–20 minutes in a sauna (~80–90°C)

• ❄️ 2–3 minutes in a cold plunge (5–10°C)

• 🧘 Repeat for 3-4 times

Not daily. Not routine. But exploratory. And what I’ve learned so far is simple: if you go cold, find a way to close the loop with heat.

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Who Should Try Contrast Therapy — and Why

You don’t need to be an elite athlete to try contrast therapy.

In fact, some of the people who benefit most are those dealing with modern-day stress: long hours at a desk, disrupted sleep, low energy, or just that persistent sense of being “wired but tired.”

Here’s who might benefit — and why:

• Longevity-focused adults (35–60+)
  To build metabolic resilience, reduce inflammation, and improve cardiovascular health over time.

• Busy professionals and founders
  For mental reset, nervous system balance, and better sleep after high-stress workdays.

• Weekend warriors and regular gym-goers
  To reduce post-workout soreness, recover faster, and prevent overtraining.

• People struggling with energy, mood, or burnout
  The combo of cold-induced endorphins and sauna-driven relaxation can shift both body and mind.

• Anyone stuck in fight-or-flight mode
  Contrast therapy trains your system to down-regulate after stress — a skill that’s more relevant than ever.

If you’re new to it, start small. One round of heat and cold is enough to feel a shift. It’s not about how long you stay in — it’s about showing up and letting your body adapt.

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How to Try It in Singapore (or at Home)

If you're based in Singapore, here are a few options:

• Soma Haus (Joo Chiat) – Great for full contrast therapy sessions and guided breathwork

• Solas Reformative (Raffles) – Beautiful rooftop setting for cold plunges

• The Ice Bath Club – Community-style contrast sessions with group energy

At-home options:

• Hydragun HeatPod or other infrared sauna blankets

• Cold showers or at-home plunge tubs

• Recently discovered @steamsaunasg on TikTok — a company that installs traditional saunas in HDB flats. Cost is around SGD 13K. I haven’t tried them, so please do your own research. I’m not affiliated in any way.

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Why This Matters for Longevity

Longevity isn’t just about living longer. It’s about building a body — and nervous system — that recovers well. That knows how to face stress, and how to bounce back.

Contrast therapy teaches that. The body gets pushed, then it gets restored. The nervous system learns flexibility. The mitochondria adapt. Blood flow improves. Inflammation decreases.

What I felt today — that cold humming inside my body for hours — was a lesson. I didn’t complete the cycle. And next time, I will.

Because recovery isn’t just about what you remove. It’s about what you add back in.

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Closing Thoughts

I’ll keep exploring this — tweaking timing, testing frequency, noticing changes in sleep, clarity, energy. But for now, one thing is clear: contrast therapy, when done right, feels like a system reboot.

If you're curious to try, I’ve got a few passes to local sessions — DM me on Instagram @shan.kr or reply here.

Thanks for following along this 3-part series on cold plunge, sauna, and contrast therapy. I’ll keep writing weekly on longevity, performance, and the realities of building a better life — from Singapore, and for the long run.

—Shan

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Okay, fine - I am back into my Jisoo era. K-dramas and cuteness is what I long for, haha. Here is new Jisoo GIF for the week!

Have a great week ahead! Cheers 🥛🥛🥛🥛🥛 (drink water, not alcohol)