What to Expect at Your First Whole Body Cryotherapy Session

Before You Book: The Health Screen

Whole body cryotherapy involves exposure to extremely cold air. A health screening helps the clinic assess your suitability before the session. , not after. Expect questions about your blood pressure, heart health, medications, pregnancy and any cold related conditions. If you are unsure about any of them, speak to your GP first.

What To Wear

Minimal clothing works best, usually underwear or shorts and a sports bra. We provide protective socks, gloves and slippers. Your skin must be dry and all jewellery must come off before you enter. Both rules are non negotiable

Inside The Chamber

Our chamber is electric and cools clean, breathable air to −110°C. There is no liquid nitrogen. Electric cryotherapy chambers and nitrogen-based cryosaunas use different technologies and should be described separately. The session duration and chamber temperature depend on the equipment and the clinic’s protocol. Follow the team’s instructions throughout your visit.

What You Will feel, And What Is Actually Happening

The air is very cold and very dry, and your skin cools fast. In one study of 20 active men exposed to −110°C for four minutes, thigh skin temperature fell to around 12°C on average, while core body temperature dropped only about 0.3°C an hour later.Research has examined how exposure to extremely cold air affects skin and core body temperatures. Mild reactions reported in the research include headache, dizziness and shivering. Tell the team straight away if you feel unwell at any point

Who Should Not Do It

A 2026 consensus of 28 European specialists updated the list of reasons to avoid whole body cryotherapy. Among them: • Pregnancy • Fever or an acute infection • Uncontrolled high blood pressure • Ischaemic heart disease or a pacemaker • Recent stroke, epilepsy or chronic migraine • Cold related immune conditions such as cryoglobulinaemia • Open wounds or infected skin • Ongoing cancer treatment • Claustrophobia or marked cold intolerance • Age over 80 This is guidance written for clinicians. It does not replace advice from your own doctor. The few serious events in the published literature involved people with risk factors such as high blood pressure or migraine, or unusually long or very cold exposures, which is exactly why screening matters.

What The Evidence Says

Be realistic. A Cochrane review, the gold standard for summarising evidence, found four small trials covering 64 people and rated the evidence very low quality. It concluded there was not enough evidence to say whether whole body cryotherapy reduces muscle soreness after exercise. None of the trials monitored side effects properly. The available research remains limited, so potential outcomes should be discussed objectively rather than assumed.

Afterwards

Drink water and take it easy if you feel light headed. Notice how you feel over the next day or two, and tell the team about any reaction before you book again

FAQs:

References

1. Costello JT, Baker PRA, Minett GM, Bieuzen F, Stewart IB, Bleakley C. Whole body cryotherapy (extreme cold air exposure) for preventing and treating muscle soreness after exercise in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015; (9):CD010789.
2. Legrand FD, Dugué B, Costello J, et al. Evaluating safety risks of whole-body cryotherapy/cryostimulation (WBC): a scoping review from an international consortium. Eur J Med Res. 2023;28:387.
3. Capodaglio P, Alito A, Dugué BM, et al. Contraindications to whole-body cryostimulation (WBC): a position paper from the WBC Working Group of the International Institute of Refrigeration and the multidisciplinary expert panel. Front Rehabil Sci. 2025;6:1567402.
4. Costello JT, Culligan K, Selfe J, Donnelly AE. Muscle, skin and core temperature after −110°C cold air and 8°C water treatment. PLoS One. 2012;7(11):e48190.