Experience the thrill of the chill at Haikko Manor 

Finland is a country of extreme temperatures – a place where you can enjoy the sweltering heat of saunas and also the frigid cool of the Super Cold room at Haikko Manor.

The idea of the latter is to expose your body for a few minutes to a severe minus 110 degrees. This provokes a cold shock in the central nervous system, which purportedly strengthens your immunities while causing your body to pump out pain-reducing endorphins.

“The therapy takes place under supervision. You enter wearing your bathing suit and with your hands, ears and feet covered. You then stay in the Super Cold room for a maximum of three minutes. Less time is needed for some, as the desired effect can be achieved in as little as a minute. Athletes in particular are advocates of our Super Cold therapy, using it to recover and to treat pain in their muscles and joints,” says Spa Manager Raija Huovinen.

Extreme cold therapy originated in Japan in the 1970s, originally to treat rheumatism. Haikko Manor has offered the treatment since 2004, when Martti Gröhn – who had developed the Super Cold room together with VTT, the Technical Research Centre of Finland – contacted the managing director of Haikko.
 
The room is transformed into a super cold refrigerator by electricity and liquid hydrogen. “Those who undertake the treatment say that they feel more energetic and that they sleep better as a result,” Huovinen claims, adding that the Super Cold room had 4500 visitors last year. 

Extreme cold therapy has been studied scientifically. Tarja Westerlund did her graduate thesis at the University of Oulu on the effects of exposure to extreme cold. Her research concluded that extreme cold therapy is a safe way of alleviating pain and swelling. It also serves as an alternative to ice swimming.

“Extreme cold therapy is not our primary business, but it certainly provides a unique experience for guests who want to refresh themselves after a long day of attending meetings. Around 70 percent of our guests are these kinds of ‘extreme visitors’,” Huovinen reveals.

Haikko Manor has received guests since 1966, and its spa complex opened close to the manor house in 1974.