Joe Rogan Experience #2553 - Andrew Hubermsan · Aired Sep 14, 2026
Claim summary · not a verbatim quotation
Data show that cold exposure does not raise cortisol levels and can buffer the cortisol response to stress.
The finding
What the evidence shows
There is real support for part of this. In a 2025 crossover trial, a 5 minute ice bath at 8 to 12 degrees Celsius did not significantly change cortisol in either the morning or the evening, and long term winter swimming work shows the hormone response fades as people get used to the cold. But a 2025 systematic review of cold water immersion describes the cortisol literature as mixed, with some studies showing increases during cold exposure, so saying every study points one way overstates it. There is also no solid human evidence that cold plunges blunt your cortisol response to unrelated stressors.
Read the supporting source · journals.plos.org ↗Quick answer & review status
Quick answer
Is it true that Data show that cold exposure does not raise cortisol levels and can buffer the cortisol response to stress?
Partly. The claim stretches what the evidence shows. There is real support for part of this. In a 2025 crossover trial, a 5 minute ice bath at 8 to 12 degrees Celsius did not significantly change cortisol in either the morning or the evening, and long term winter swimming work shows the hormone response fades as people get used to the cold. Andrew Hubermsan said it (matched by voice) on Joe Rogan Experience #2553 - Andrew Hubermsan, aired Sep 14, 2026, at 1:30:37. The supporting source is journals.plos.org, linked below.
The context belongs here.
No separately verified on-air correction is recorded for this check. That is not a claim that nobody corrected it.
- Attribution
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- One selected claim from the episode
Revisions to this check
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