The most important memory of hardening: not only protects against diseases, but also helps to heal.

– How does hardening affect the body? What happens in the body the moment we jump on the frozen plow?

– In fact, jumping straight into the icy plow is a drastic and cruel way to get tough. Tightening up is a sure way to re-stress your body. And the essentials are safe and repeatable. What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. Unfortunately, but if we haven’t done anything for 10 years, sitting warmly on the couch and drinking beer, suddenly jumping on an icy plow can kill us.

– And what does the body itself start to do when it is under stress? Starting to produce something that protects us from disease?

– Yes, the essence of hardening is to accustom the body to certain conditions. Usually we understand hardening very strictly, that is, getting used to the cold. But it is not just such a habit. When experiencing stress, the body begins to mobilize, invest in heat exchange, better to supply blood to your skin and mucous membranes to make them resistant, so that it does not cool quickly and does not allow the enemy to enter the body. Hardening promotes cell renewal, faster metabolism. We receive the stimulus and develop a response to it. It is exactly the same with cold, heat, stress, pain, and the like. Hardening is the strengthening of the reflex arc.

– Do you agree with the opinion that comfort is the greatest enemy of health?

– Probably yes. We live too full, too lazy and too warm.

– You mentioned that not just jumping on a plow or rocking in the snow are the only ways to get tough. Maybe you could expand that list yet?

– Yes, the perception of hardening only as an improvement in the reaction to temperature is very narrow. Hardening is the same healthy diet, periodic fasting, sleep-rest, limited physical exertion, safe but repetitive. It all makes up for our hardening. Why are women more resistant to pain and bleeding? Because every month they experience it. As a result, it is also a kind of hardening. But it has to be a sure stress.

Suppose now that our viewer decides that he needs to start to toughen up. As I understand it, it has to happen gradually and you really can’t jump over the plow right away when it’s 15 degrees outside.

– Yes, but it is not necessary to wait for hot air for a person to stay outside. If the need to improve health occurs to us, we do it immediately, not later. It is enough to go out every day to actively exercise outdoors. If we still want hot and cold treatments, we can start with a contrast shower. Children can get used to playing with 2 cubes: blue and red. One has cold water, the other warm. And then play those fiery icy flying dragons. You can go barefoot to the balcony for a minute and see how your skin reacts. This does not have to be the immersion of all receivers in cold water.

“It could be that we could put together that human hardening journey in small steps, from a small step to a plow jump. How should it look?

– This should be done regularly, ideally at the same time, for example, in the morning or in the evening. Gradually increase stress. If a person is young, healthy, in a good mood and jumping to the plow as a challenge to overcome and feeling an influx of adrenaline, maybe even now they can do it and everything will be fine. The only question is, if you do it continuously and daily, what the long-term effects will be. As a result, you must start from a very short time. If we take the jump to the plow as a show, there will be nothing good. Therefore, I would advise little by little, little by little, perhaps starting in the field daily and increasing the time. Be sure to add exercise, as being alone in the cold snow won’t have that effect. By slowly increasing the time, we may be able to jump into the cold water before summer.

– And if a person does not obey this rule and already wants to jump into the frozen water, what threat in this case?

– If you are healthy and in a good mood, I think everything will be fine. However, too much stress on the body and too cold can have consequences for the body and a person will get colds, gynecological or urological diseases, there may be tissue freezing.

– We start to harden, we do everything safely – after how long can we expect the first results? Is there such a first result, and if so, what should we notice in our body?

– We realize immediately if we do everything well and we like it – we feel satisfaction and an influx of energy. Whether we went for a run or it snowed, or we dared to let the coldest water in the shower turn off. If we have a goal and we achieve it, the body rewards us and releases endorphins. If we talk about resistance to infections, blood cells and mucous membranes should take a couple of weeks to regenerate to become more resistant to the effects of cold. Due to direct freezing, when the mucous membrane freezes, the infection spreads throughout the body.

– And yet it should probably be mentioned that hardening does not elicit a specific immune response. I have seen a lot of people say that they are taking supplements and they are hardening, so no coronavirus or other infection will “take” them.

– Yes and no, there are no absolute truths in medicine. Both immunities complement each other. Non-specific immunity forms a barrier immunity: do not pass the infection beyond the mucosa. We could compare it to the defensive wall of a building, the thicker it is, the more difficult it is for the enemy to cross it. Another way to defend non-specific immunity is heavy artillery – bombardment, explosives, when the body strikes to kill the enemy, but also slightly injured. Specific immunity is spot action, trained by ordinary soldiers who know exactly where to shoot and how to catch an enemy. Nonspecific immunity will cause high, debilitating fever, not fighting the virus directly, but will not allow large amounts of virus to enter if we are overwhelmed. Specific immunity is safer but slower to develop.

– How long does it take to harden in general? Does it already have to be a way of life?

– It is not possible to “push” forward – it must be a continuous and continuous process if we want to live a healthy life. It is assumed that after the cessation of hardening, the effect disappears after 2-3 weeks. Over time, blood cells regenerate. And sometimes it takes a couple of months to get the same effect again.

– It is said that hardening can cure autoimmune diseases. Is that really possible?

– Not only autoimmune diseases, but also allergies and oncological diseases. Our immunity can really help. It must be remembered that autoimmune diseases are an inadequate response to the tissues of our own body. Therefore, the stimulation of such immunity must be very slow so as not to put too much stress on the body. Hardening is not just about swimming in the snow or jumping on a plow, it is as much physical exertion as going out and the same healthy diet.

– Well, if a person says they really don’t like cold water and they don’t want to take an ice cold shower, is there an alternative?

– Like everyone and I would advise not to think only of drastic tightening measures. Going for a walk, breathing more deeply during exercise, increasing it, would be enough for at least our mucous membranes to get used to the colder air. No need to start with a 5K run, just a walk. We can become hard by slightly irritating our skin, for example, walking barefoot under a massage mat. It’s enough.

– What mistakes do people make when they start to get tough? What should really be avoided to help with health?

– There are two main errors: a very rough start and when it is done inconsistently, with long breaks.

– Thank you, doctor, for the interview.