RESET Cryotherapy: Can you last 3 minutes?

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I spent the morning with RESET Cryotherapy owners Whitney Oakes and Jess Scott, who are like nuclear physicists you'd want to go drinking with! Not only did they provide me with a mind-blowingly detailed account of the origins and theory behind Whole Body Cryotherapy (WBC), BUT they also made freezing fun! And we 305'ers know that's a rather arduous task!The term "cryotherapy" comes from the Greek cryo meaning cold and therapy meaning cure. But at RESET, is a bit more complicated than simply slapping an ice pack on a swollen ankle or soaking an aching body in an ice cube-filled tub!Developed in Japan in the 1970s, WBC first came to the US in 2009. Clients strip down to their skivvies - or birthday suits depending on one's inhibition level - and step into a chamber called a 'Cryosauna' (so deceptive - don't be fooled)! For 2-3 minutes, you're engulfed from the neck downward in gasiform nitrogen that is several hundred degrees fahrenheit BELOW zero... so basically colder than the coldest temperature recorded on Earth...EVER!What happens in those 2-3 minutes?Scientifically, the extreme cold causes your body to go through vasoconstriction (blood vessel reduction or tightening) until you exit the chamber and your body goes through vasodilation (the opening or expanding of blood vessels).Emotionally, your brain's regulatory functions are saying "FML!" And this is exactly what Reset Cryotherapy wants ... for you to Feel Better, Move Better, Look Better!... oh, you thought I meant ... well yah, that too!The methodology is based on the belief that the cold provides an analgesic or numbing effect, and that the speed at which nerves fire is slowed. From there, blood flowing through arteries and veins is constricted, leading to a reduction of inflammation (amongst many other reported benefits we'll get to shortly).https://www.instagram.com/p/BP01zh0jAVd/?taken-by=resetfmlFor those like me who are worried about the possibility of freezing to death (admit it, the thought crossed your mind too); I've been assured that you're only lowering your skin's surface temperature. So while thoughts of getting hypothermia in Miami do conjure up utmost irony, your core body temperature, tissues, muscles and organs aren't 'actually' freezing.The experience feels lightning fast as Whitney and Jess play your favorite tunes and encourage you to move and dance around. You also feel super calm because you've been fully briefed on what to expect not just during the freeze, but in the minutes, hours and days after you've frozen!Now for those doing their due diligence, you may have come across articles where skepticism is high, particularly because Cryotherapy is not FDA approved. For me personally, this is far from a red-flag. (I spent 10 years living in London and always found it incredible that tons of funky chemicals - viewed as nothing short of toxins in Europe - find their way into American supermarkets thanks to the FDA's approval).Whitney and Jess offered the below comment when asked about Cryotherapy's FDA status in the US:

"More research on Whole Body Cryotherapy in the United States absolutely needs to be done. There is a lot of research out of Europe. Research on Cryotherapy is interesting, because you can't do a double blind study; if you're receiving the cryotherapy treatment, you would know! It's not like taking a pill where one would be a placebo and the other would be the actual medicine. People have been using various cold therapy modalities for thousands of years; it's a well known principle that cold reduces inflammation. We are excited for more research to be done on Whole Body Cryotherapy in the United States; and if that leads to FDA approval, awesome! And if not, we are confident that most people who do use whole body cryo and see the benefits will continue to do so with or without the FDA approval."

We also spoke heavily about safety, as there was a widely publicised incident in 2015 whereby a Cryotherapy employee in Nevada passed away from nitrogen asphyxiation."This was a very unfortunate happening and we are confident that had safety protocols been in place and enforced, the outcome would have been different," says RESET's owners who were only too happy to tell me about their Juka Cryosauna and how they specifically selected it for its reliability and safety features.They noted that an operator must operate the machine while someone is receiving a treatment, so clients, as well as employees and owners cannot operate the machine themselves. There is no lock on the door to the cryosauna and the flow of nitrogen is immediately haulted upon opening the door. Inside of the sauna is an elevator, so regardless of one's height, their entire face can be elevated above the flow of nitrogen and exposed to oxygen.https://www.instagram.com/p/BPibjvvDLLp/?taken-by=resetfmlWhitney and Jess also highlighted 3 different air detection mechanisms; (1) an oxygen sensor at the height of clients' mouths, so if, for some reason, the nitrogen rises and limits one's oxygen, the operator is immediately aware and the session will end, (2) the JUKA machine's ventilation system which acts like a constant vacuum, sucking nitrogen away from the face and (3) an oxygen sensor that continuously monitors the oxygen level in the facility whereby the release of 100% fresh air is triggered in the event that nitrogen is approaching an unsafe level in the facility.RESET Cryotherapy truly believes in the physical and emotional benefits of WBC and are passionate about their clients' wellbeing and experience. They are wholeheartedly excited to be a part of the Miami community and to facilitate the process of clients embarking on a new adventure with widely reported benefits!So relax, strip off your clothes and freeze your way to ....