The Surprising Benefits of Shivering

Key Takeaways:

• Shivering forces your body to burn fat through thermogenesis.
  • It increases metabolic activity and energy expenditure, similar to exercise.
• Regular cold exposure with shivering improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity.
• It strengthens muscles and cells, making them more resilient to stress.
• Shivering triggers processes that improve metabolic and cardiovascular health.

Shivering is often seen as an uncomfortable, dangerous response that should be avoided at all costs. But what if I told you that it actually has significant health benefits? 

In this article, we’ll explore the science and benefits of shivering and how embracing it can help you become a more robust person.

Why do you shiver?

Shivering occurs after extended cold exposure to help the body maintain homeostasis—in other words, it keeps you alive when your body is freezing.

This evolutionary adaptation has kept humans alive throughout history, but because shivering is an autonomic response—meaning it happens without conscious control—it can feel unsettling. 

Here’s what happens in the body:

1. Cold receptors in the skin signal the hypothalamus (the brain’s temperature regulation center) to activate brown fat and contract the muscles.
2. Brown fat produces heat by burning stored fat and sugar through thermogenesis (breaking down fat at the mitochondrial level).
3. Shivering forces muscle contraction, generating heat and increasing metabolic activity and fat-burning efficiency over time.

But if shivering helps burn fat and boost metabolism, does it keep working forever, or does the body adapt and make it less effective over time?

Does Shivering Lose Its Effectiveness Over Time?

Yes, but it depends on how often you do it. As your body adapts to cold, it learns to use less energy, which can reduce the initial benefits. However, regular shivering improves your body’s ability to regulate temperature.

Shivering for an hour every day will likely lead to diminishing returns, but spreading that time over a week keeps the benefits without a significant drop-off.

Although you might burn slightly less fat over time, the improvements in metabolic health and resilience still make it worthwhile.

Metabolic Benefits

Shivering does more than warm you up. Here’s what else it can do?

• Increases insulin sensitivity: Improves how muscles and cells respond to insulin, reducing the risk of metabolic disorders.
• Improves glucose tolerance: After 10 days of cold exposure with shivering, participants showed:
  • 6% lower glucose levels during an oral glucose tolerance test.
  • 3% decrease in fasting plasma glucose levels.
  • 11% reduction in 2-hour glucose concentration.
  • Participants with impaired glucose tolerance saw significant improvements.
• Enhances lipid metabolism (better heart health):
  • 14% reduction in free fatty acids (NEFA AUC).
  • 32% reduction in fasting triglycerides.
• Lowers blood pressure:
  • 10 mmHg decrease in systolic blood pressure.
  • 7 mmHg decrease in diastolic blood pressure.

Regular cold exposure makes the body more energy-efficient. But beyond metabolic benefits, shivering also builds resilience at a cellular level.

Shivering On The Cellular Level

Shivering stresses the body similarly to exercise or heat exposure. This healthy stress (hormesis) makes cells stronger and more adaptable.

Over time, this strengthens your body’s ability to handle stress, whether it’s extreme temperatures, physical exertion, or even daily challenges like fatigue and mental strain.

Just like exercise builds strength, controlled cold exposure and shivering make your body more resilient.

Dr. Susanna Søberg: “The more exposure your muscles and brown fat cells get to these kinds of healthy stresses, the better they become at activating and keeping you healthy.”

How to Shiver Safely

Knowing when shivering is helpful and when it becomes risky can be tricky. The key is to keep it intentional but not excessive—shivering should never push you toward hypothermia.

A good rule of thumb is to let your body shiver naturally but not to the point of uncontrollable shaking or intense discomfort.

Shivering often kicks in after you leave the cold due to afterdrop, when your core temperature keeps dropping even after the exposure ends.

This is normal, but warming up too quickly can interfere with the process. Instead, let your body reheat gradually.

How to Maximize the benefits

There isn’t a strict formula, but research suggests that short, controlled bouts of shivering—totaling around an hour per week—can maximize benefits without leading to adaptation too quickly.

• The key is to induce shivering without extreme discomfort by exposing yourself to cold in a manageable way. This is where water chillers can help. Learn more here.

For example, sessions of 3-15 minutes in cold conditions that trigger shivering (such as cold plunges, cold showers, or outdoor exposure) a few times a week can stimulate brown fat activation, improve metabolic function, and strengthen resilience.

Doing it every day may reduce benefits as the body adapts, so spacing it out helps maintain effectiveness.

Conclusion

While it might seem like something to avoid, shivering is a natural reaction that can be used a tool to reap many health benefits.

It can improve fat metabolism, increase insulin sensitivity, and strengthen the body’s resilience when done correctly.

By intentionally including cold exposure and controlled shivering in your routine, you can train your body in ways that exercise, sleep, and diet alone cannot.

FAQs

Is shivering good for health?

Yes. A study from nature metabolism found that daily shivering improves metabolic health, oral glucose tolerance, fasting glucose, triglycerides, non-esterified fatty acid concentrations, and blood pressure.

Why does shivering make you feel better?

Shivering triggers metabolic reactions that wouldn’t usually activate, including the release of dopamine and serotonin, which can improve mood.

What hormone is released when you shiver?

Irisin. It’s a hormone that helps activate brown fat, which burns calories and supports metabolism. 

Is shivering a good way to lose weight?

Shivering alone won’t lead to lasting weight loss. While it can temporarily boost metabolism, it doesn’t have the same long-term benefits as regular exercise.

Does shivering count as exercise?

It mimics some effects of exercise by engaging muscles and releasing certain hormones, but it’s not a substitute for a proper workout. Instead, it can complement an active lifestyle.

What are the side effects of shivering?

• Increased energy expenditure – The body burns extra calories to generate heat, which can lead to fatigue.
• Muscle fatigue and soreness – Prolonged shivering can strain muscles, causing soreness.
• Rapid breathing and heart rate – As the body tries to warm up, breathing and heart rate may increase, leading to discomfort.
• Mild confusion or difficulty concentrating – If prolonged, shivering can contribute to cognitive impairment due to reduced blood flow to the brain.
• Risk of hypothermia – Extended exposure to cold can lead to dangerous drops in body temperature, with shivering being an early warning sign.

While occasional shivering is harmless, excessive or prolonged shivering can indicate a need to warm up and prevent further cold-related risks.