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Hotwired: How the Hidden Power of Heat Makes Us Stronger
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- GenresNonfictionHealthScience
320 pages, Hardcover
Published March 17, 2026
15 people are currently reading
2833 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 12, 2026
Five stars. Read it in two days.
Great book to understand the science behind sauna vs the pseudoscience.
Gifford balances three things really well: peer-reviewed research, cultural history, and his own experiences. He’s a good writer. Self-deprecating, curious, never preachy.
The myth-busting was great - “sweating out toxins”, hype on cold plunging, etc. Gifford clarifies what’s real from what’s marketing.
Great book. Quick read. Engaging.
Great book to understand the science behind sauna vs the pseudoscience.
Gifford balances three things really well: peer-reviewed research, cultural history, and his own experiences. He’s a good writer. Self-deprecating, curious, never preachy.
The myth-busting was great - “sweating out toxins”, hype on cold plunging, etc. Gifford clarifies what’s real from what’s marketing.
Great book. Quick read. Engaging.
Want to Read
February 5, 2026Won and received a copy through a Goodreads Giveaway!
April 17, 2026
Hotwired~~~~
I eagerly picked up Bill Gifford's new nonfiction book Hotwired: How.the Hidden Power of Heat Makes Us Stronger. He's a science writer in his fifties who wouldn't have thought about writing about our crucial need for heat acclimatization and therapy if it hadn't been for his long-time publishers suggesting he do so. The importance of challenging our thermoregulators like people did before, basically air conditioning is mostly overlooked or casually ignored until the last handful of years. He went on an investigation into saunas, hot tubs, hot yoga, and clinical trials for heat or heat and cold therapy and has never felt better in his cognitive and cardiac function. His mood is much uplifted too.
Gifford learned that you need to get your body temperature up to 101 degrees Fahrenheit for our beneficial heat shock proteins to develop and do things like kill the COVID virus, greatly help reduce chances of strokes and dementia, and decrease anxiety and depression.
I found the book fascinating. I don't know if a sauna would be safe for me with my incomplete spinal cord injury that makes me faint if I feel too warm from eating/digesting too much greasy stovetop-popped popcorn. I need to research this because heat acclimatization therapy would really loosen my tight muscles from spasticity.
If you want to try this therapy, read Hotwired first and realize that Gifford kept track of his body temp with a rectal thermometer in the clinics and some other way, I think, when he rode the Hotter 'n Hell Hundred in Texas in August 2023.
Gifford used to hate to sweat, but now he craves being able to do it. He can enjoy hot days when others are sheltered indoors and has the bike trails to himself. This experience has positively changed his life, to his amazement, and he urges his readers to become acclimatized to hot weather as the climate threatens us with terrible heat waves that lingers and extreme weather patterns are only increasing. We evolved to be able to handle extreme temps much better than any other creature, being the one with the most sweat glands, so we need to start sweating.
Highly recommended!
I eagerly picked up Bill Gifford's new nonfiction book Hotwired: How.the Hidden Power of Heat Makes Us Stronger. He's a science writer in his fifties who wouldn't have thought about writing about our crucial need for heat acclimatization and therapy if it hadn't been for his long-time publishers suggesting he do so. The importance of challenging our thermoregulators like people did before, basically air conditioning is mostly overlooked or casually ignored until the last handful of years. He went on an investigation into saunas, hot tubs, hot yoga, and clinical trials for heat or heat and cold therapy and has never felt better in his cognitive and cardiac function. His mood is much uplifted too.
Gifford learned that you need to get your body temperature up to 101 degrees Fahrenheit for our beneficial heat shock proteins to develop and do things like kill the COVID virus, greatly help reduce chances of strokes and dementia, and decrease anxiety and depression.
I found the book fascinating. I don't know if a sauna would be safe for me with my incomplete spinal cord injury that makes me faint if I feel too warm from eating/digesting too much greasy stovetop-popped popcorn. I need to research this because heat acclimatization therapy would really loosen my tight muscles from spasticity.
If you want to try this therapy, read Hotwired first and realize that Gifford kept track of his body temp with a rectal thermometer in the clinics and some other way, I think, when he rode the Hotter 'n Hell Hundred in Texas in August 2023.
Gifford used to hate to sweat, but now he craves being able to do it. He can enjoy hot days when others are sheltered indoors and has the bike trails to himself. This experience has positively changed his life, to his amazement, and he urges his readers to become acclimatized to hot weather as the climate threatens us with terrible heat waves that lingers and extreme weather patterns are only increasing. We evolved to be able to handle extreme temps much better than any other creature, being the one with the most sweat glands, so we need to start sweating.
Highly recommended!
April 13, 2026
A terrifically engaging read that speeds by but leaves you with a lot to think about. As in his earlier book “Spring Chicken,” Gifford puts himself under the microscope on the readers’ behalf — and to great effect. A quite funny, whip-smart primer on little changes most people can make in their lives to better move through a warming world. Highly recommended!
April 4, 2026
I enjoyed this one - good information on benefits of heat therapy. Liked that the author shared personal experiences.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews