A new study from the University of Queensland and just published in Nature, involving over 400 participants, finds that the Wim Hof Method increasingly lowers stress, boosts energy, and enhances mental clarity when practiced consistently.
What did they study?
An Australian research team led by Dr. Jemma King from the University of Queensland set out to determine whether the positive results that we’ve seen in so many previous studies on the Wim Hof Method, would hold true across a larger population.
To do this, they gathered 404 willing subjects — 226 women and 177 men — and divided them into three different groups: one practicing daily Wim Hof breathwork and cold showers, one doing that plus ice baths, and a control group performing 15-minute sessions of guided mindfulness meditation.
All test subjects practiced for 29 days straight, and everyone completed daily surveys, cognitive tests, and wore a measuring device to track sleep, heart rate, and recovery.
What did they find?
Throughout the research period, every group felt better immediately after doing their daily practice, but the Wim Hof Method groups reported significantly greater boosts in energy, mental clarity, and ability to handle stress.
What’s even more striking is that for the Wim Hof Method crew, the effects increased cumulatively as the month went on. In other words, the more consistently people practiced, the larger the daily improvements tended to be.
For the mindfulness group meanwhile, meditation initially lowered stress more right after a session, but the effects plateaued or even somewhat diminished over the successive days. The Wim Hof Method quickly surpassed the meditation group and ultimately showed the strongest immediate anxiety reductions.
Across both Wim Hof Method groups, participants also reported a significant improvement in psychological safety at work — feeling more comfortable speaking up, sharing ideas, and addressing challenges with their team.
Baseline physiological changes were modest over the 29 days, but the study did find a day-by-day decrease in respiratory rate in the Wim Hof Method groups, indicating that with longer practice, persistent adaptations may occur.
What have we learned?
What this study shows is something Wim Hof Method enthusiasts have known for a long time: Wim Hof breathwork, cold showers and ice baths have immediate positive effects, but those effects compound with consistent, repeated efforts. It’s not for nothing that the Wim Hof Method rests on 3 pillars — ingraining the habit and practicing daily is what truly brings you happiness, strength and health.
What makes this study so exciting — besides the findings themselves — is its scale. Earlier research on the Wim Hof Method was typically conducted in smaller, exploratory studies. This larger trial with over 400 participants confirms that the positive effects observed in earlier research also appear consistently in a much larger population — something that carries a lot of scientific weight. The fact that the study included both women and men further strengthens the robustness of the findings.
As Wim Hof’s saying goes, feeling is understanding. But we also understand the value of hard evidence when it comes to gaining global acceptance and mainstream adoption. So let’s break out the ice cubes for this important piece of research. This is a huge entry in the resume of the Wim Hof Method.
It not only invites further trials and interdisciplinary research on stress and psychology, but the protocols can be confidently added to workplace wellness initiatives, fitness programs, and clinical interventions worldwide.