Why Most Contrast Therapy Spaces Are Underperforming
Over the past few years, I’ve seen a rapid rise in contrast therapy spaces across the world.
Beautiful facilities.
Carefully designed interiors.
Cold plunges, saunas, recovery lounges. They are often built with significant investment and attention to detail.
On the surface, it looks like progress. But underneath, there is a pattern emerging that we need to address. Because many of these spaces, despite their quality, are quietly underperforming.
The Illusion of Access
The assumption is simple:
If you provide access to cold water and heat, people will use it and benefit from it. But physiology doesn’t work like that. Cold exposure and heat exposure are not passive experiences.
They are stimuli.
And like any physiological stimulus, their effect depends entirely on:
How they are applied
Without structure, the same environment that has the potential to improve metabolic health, reduce inflammation, and regulate the nervous system becomes… inconsistent.
Some people feel great. Others feel overwhelmed.
Most don’t know what they’re doing — and stop coming.
Beautiful Spaces, Inconsistent Outcomes
What we often observe across these spaces is a similar pattern:
Members move freely between sauna and cold
There is no clear direction nor progression
From a user perspective, this creates uncertainty.
From a physiological perspective, it creates noise.
And from a business perspective, it leads to:
Low retention
Irregular usage
Limited measurable outcomes
Which is a problem. Especially when these spaces are built with long-term vision and significant capital.
Contrast Therapy Is Not the Exposure Itself
This is the key misunderstanding.
Contrast therapy is not:
The cold plunge
The sauna
Or the act of moving between the two
It is the system around it.
The body does not respond to isolated exposures.
It responds to patterns.
Without it, you get an experience. And experiences, while valuable, rarely create lasting physiological change.
The Gap Between Design and Physiology
There is currently a gap in the industry.
On one side:
Architects
Designers
Operators
Creating exceptional physical environments.
On the other:
Human physiology
Nervous system regulation
Metabolic adaptation
Which require something very different:
Precision
Progression
And consistency over time
Bridging this gap is about understanding that the value of contrast therapy does not lie in the infrastructure, but in how it is used.
What This Means Going Forward
As the space continues to grow, we will likely see a divergence.
Some facilities will remain:
Beautiful
Popular
But ultimately underutilised in terms of outcomes
Others will begin to recognise that:
Access is not enough.
Structure is what creates results.
And with that shift, the role of contrast therapy will evolve:
From a wellness amenity
To a structured intervention for metabolic and nervous system health
A Final Thought
We are still early, which means there is an opportunity. Not just to build more spaces, but to build them differently.
To move beyond exposure, and towards systems that the body can actually adapt to.
This is exactly the direction we’ve been working in through Thermalist®.
Because ultimately, the value of contrast therapy is not in the exposure itself,
but in the system behind it.
—
Dr. Susanna Søberg