Question from Luke Shrubb: What is Wim's heart rate like at these temperatures?
Dr Havenith: He started with a rate of around 70 and slowly, when he cooled down, the heart rate rose as the activity showed in his body. It rose to around 135 or 140 at the end. This reflects all the mechanisms he uses to produce heat in the body, and those mechanisms will need oxygen. The increased heart rate is necessary to transport the oxygen to the heat-producing tissues.
Question from Derek Higbee: Are women or men better at standing these extreme temperatures?
Dr Havenith: Basically women are on average better equipped to withstand the cold, because they have more body fat. This acts as an insulator, which protects the body core against cooling. However, the response of the blood vessels in women is such that their skin cools down quicker than that of men, and what you typically will find, even at room temperature, is that women complain earlier about the cold than men.
Question from Ben Tristem: Dr Havenith, it seems that the only way to keep the extremities warm is to keep blood flowing to them. Does this mean that Wim is overriding the body's natural urge to divert blood to the core?
Dr Havenith: When you cool down, and your body core is still warm, your skin cools, but when the skin temperature reaches about 10 degrees, you will actually open up the blood flow to your skin, to prevent skin damage. After a brief period of re-warming, the blood flow will close again, the skin will cool down again, and this cycle may go on for quite a while. However, once this body core temperature drops further, the physiology of the body will try to give priority to the protection of your organs and brain, and this mechanism of skin blood profusion will stop. In Wim's case, I think that his ability to keep his body core temperature very high, will allow him to keep his skin at a non-freezing temperature for longer.
Question from Clare C: It is said that we only use 10% of our brain. Do you think that Wim is accessing some part of the brain which a sedentary person is unable to do?
Dr Havenith: I haven't got a clue! Basically I'm not a brain specialist, but from my experience I think that Wim's advantage is more in occupying his mind with other things than the actual pain, than that he actually would use more of his brain capacity.
Question from Jobie: Is it a case of learning to endure the pain or do you really not feel anything?
Wim Hof: I've learned not to get rid of the pain, but to overcome it. There is a greater force which can overcome the pain. The pain is a signal of something going wrong, but if you resort to a power which is greater, then you have overcome the pain. Pain is a thing that you can always overcome. There are deeper levels other than pain.
Question from Tom Reid: What's the greatest danger in this stunt?
Wim Hof: To ignore signals such as pain, your own limit, and losing control. I rely much on my experience but I always have to be attentive. Don't lose awareness, that would be a great danger.
Question from Suki Wong: How many records do you hold?
Wim Hof: Registrated records, I have six now. But I've got a lot of different things still to come, that have never been done. For example, with the retention of breath after exhaling, stopping inhalation at that point, and remain four and a half minutes without oxygen! Totally exhaled. These are yoga techniques, but I learned them by myself. I don't use books, although I write them. Another thing I want to do, is climb Everest in shorts! I was there two years, and I walked and ran all day long on the slopes, in shorts. Bare footed!
Question from Zoe Foster: Do you ever get scared?
Wim Hof: Yes, that's one of the signals. Don't ignore a signal, ever. They are natural, but you can overcome them. You go deeper, and you find a way to tranquilize that signal to your rational satisfaction.
BBC Host: Here are Wim and Dr Havenith with a final word...
Wim Hof: I hope I succeeded in showing that we can do more than we think.
Dr Havenith: Tonight I had an enjoyable experience, because I was very impressed with the way Wim handled the exposure. Scientifically for me, it raised a number of questions, as to what level the physiology versus the mind was responsible for what we saw.
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