Nappin' Ain't Easy 11

Schvitzin' ain't easy

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Dr. Christian Poensgen

’s Substack that’s about "how to destress, work less and accomplish more.” He’s touched on a number of topics that are relevant to our Nappin’ Ain’t Easy series and our recent focus on balancing productivity and stress management. Specifically, I’d recommend checking out his recent posts about breathing techniques to relieve stress in the moment and prevent it more generally by increasing your tolerance for discomfort. He also built on this in a recent post about cold exposure, and this confluence of topics relates to another stress management tool I’ve begun to incorporate in conjunction with napping: the schvitz.

Before going to the schvitz I recommend checking out Eastern Promises, which serves as a great example of how not to do it. No rights asserted as to image.

I live near Southampton Spa, which offers a variety of hot and cold treatments (wet and dry): steam room, Russian bath, Turkish hammam, salt sauna, cold plunge, cold showers, snow room, pool, hot tub. They also offer traditionally eastern European food — pickled and fermented vegetables, raw fish, a few glasses of kvass…go to your happy place.

I leave the schvitz feeling relaxed and refreshed. Beyond sweating profusely and flushing toxins, I believe that, to Dr. Poensgen’s point, extreme heat and cold positively stress the body and build resilience and stress tolerance. I also find that a nap is the perfect way to end the experience: a final opportunity for the body to de-stress after a day of controlled physical stress.

We’ve been discussing a TND field trip to the schvitz, so be on the lookout for a future post. In the meantime, happy schvitzing!