Do hot and cold therapies work?
What's Up Docs?
BBC
4.4 • 659 Ratings
🗓️ 18 November 2025
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken cut through the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing.
In this episode, Chris and Xand dive into body temperature and how it can be challenged. How does the human body regulate its core and skin temperature? Can you change your body temperature from its average value? Should you challenge your body temperature by exposing yourself to hot environments? They explore the biology of body temperature, the impact of cold therapies and look at the claimed benefits of saunas.
Joining them to discuss this is Dr Heather Massey, Associate Professor of extreme environments and physiology at the University of Portsmouth.
If you want to get in touch, you can email us at whatsupdocs@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08000 665 123.
Presenters: Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken Guest: Dr Heather Massey Researcher: Mili Ostojic Producers: Faye Lyons White and Maia Miller-Lewis Social Media Producer: Leon Gower Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar Editor: Jo Rowntree Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable Digital Lead: Richard Berry Composer: Phoebe McFarlane Sound Design: Melvin Rickarby
At the BBC: Assistant Commissioner: Greg Smith Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
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| 0:28.8 | Oh, thanks for having me, Ed. |
| 0:30.5 | The winner. |
| 0:31.2 | I know, still hasn't sunk in. |
| 0:32.7 | Get the best of 2025 with podcasts on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:40.0 | Hello and it is getting a bit nippy out there. Chris, are you feeling the chill in the air? |
| 0:46.5 | I mean, it's not cold in the studio, but I noticed you are wearing pretty heavy jumper. |
| 0:50.3 | I'm Zandt Van Tullochin. I'm here with my identical twin brother. |
| 0:53.5 | Chris, welcome to this edition of |
| 0:55.9 | What's Up Docs, where we dive into the messy and complicated world of health and well-being to see if we can |
| 1:01.7 | untangle all the conflicting information out there. Today we are focusing on body temperature. |
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