Can a -210 degree cryotherapy sesh really help muscle soreness? I tried it to find out

Is cryotherapy weird or worth it? Watch the video to find out.

Nary a day passes on my Instagram feed without an influencer or celebrity singing the praises the of cryotherapy. The buzzy wellness practice involves stepping inside a cryotank (which really, really looks like a rocket) and being blasted with dry nitrogen mist ranging from a brisk -166 degrees to a downright frigid -220 degrees Fahrenheit. But is it weird or worth it? Well+Good video producer Ella Dove sets out to answer that question on the most recent episode of Well+Good’s YouTube series What the Wellness.

If you’re sitting there thinking that you wouldn’t try such a thing unless hell (literally) froze over, then you need to hear the benefits. Josh Kantor, DC, founder of Chill Space in New York City, tells Dove that the tanks cause your body to undergo a cold stress response that has been found to to reduce inflammation and pain, while increasing the output of feel-good endorphins. “Cryotherapy is the modern day solution to the ice bath,” says Dr. Kantor. “Athletes use it to do double training sessions in a day.” Oh, and all this happens in just three minutes.

Throughout the course of one session, Dr. Kantor says your skin temperature can drop about 30 degrees. Meanwhile, the inside of your body remains the same temperature. By then end, Dove’s legs dropped down to 53 degrees (53 degrees!!!) Fahrenheit. But did she like it? Watch the video.

Ready to get the 101 on wellness’ coolest recovery technique? Watch the most recent episode of What the Wellness.

For more weird wellness, check out what it’s like to run with artificial intelligence and to get a vitamin IV drip.