{"id":40515,"date":"2026-06-24T11:46:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T11:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/40515\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T11:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T11:46:09","slug":"this-simple-wellness-ritual-is-trending-in-paris-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/40515\/","title":{"rendered":"This Simple Wellness Ritual Is Trending In Paris Right Now"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>What is contrast therapy?<\/p>\n<p>Contrast therapy is defined by an alternation between heat (thermotherapy) and cold (cryotherapy). In practice, this means spending time sitting in a sauna and then immediately plunging into cold water, be that an ice bath, the sea, or a cold shower. In its most accessible form, it can be as simple as switching your shower from hot to cold and back again, repeating the process as many times as you can manage. It\u2019s a technique that has long been harnessed by athletes to improve recovery time \u2013 and in the current age of longevity, it has found a following well beyond the world of professional sports.<\/p>\n<p>The benefits of contrast therapy<\/p>\n<p>Heat causes blood vessels to dilate and increases circulation; cold causes them to constrict. Rapidly alternating between the two triggers a vascular pumping effect that accelerates blood flow, flushes out stagnant waste and alleviates muscle soreness. <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC11900007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Studies<\/a> have also linked contrast therapy to reduced pain, improved mobility, better management of swelling and reduced inflammation. It also supports lymphatic drainage \u2013 and costs considerably less than a massage.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the physical benefits, there are positive mental side-effects, too \u2013 Bourdette-Donon and I are far from alone in noticing significant improvements in our stress levels. Contrast therapy is an effective way to deactivate the fight-or-flight sympathetic nervous system and activate the parasympathetic, shifting the body into rest and restore mode.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe greatest benefits of contrast therapy are as much mental as they are physical,\u201d agrees Christopher Selman, co-founder of <a data-offer-url=\"https:\/\/outofthevalley.com\/\" class=\"external-link\" data-event-click=\"{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;ExternalLink&quot;,&quot;outgoingURL&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/outofthevalley.com\/&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/outofthevalley.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Out of the Valley saunas<\/a>, a celebrity fave. \u201cThe heat of the sauna draws you into the present moment \u2013 you become aware of your breath, your heart rate and the sensations in your body.\u201d Introduce cold water into the mix, and that focus sharpens further: \u201cIt\u2019s one of the few experiences where your mind can\u2019t wander elsewhere \u2013\u00a0there\u2019s something quite meditative about that.\u201d Switching between the two leaves you feeling energised, alert and deeply connected to your body, he adds. It\u2019s a natural high like no other.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What is contrast therapy? Contrast therapy is defined by an alternation between heat (thermotherapy) and cold (cryotherapy). In&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40516,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1576,27773,30,1177,7247],"class_list":["post-40515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-paris","tag-beauty","tag-health-fitness","tag-paris","tag-shopping","tag-wellness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40515\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}