Sleep is a natural physiological process that our bodies need in order to recover and function properly. At times, stress and other factors can affect the quality of our sleep, but scientists have been searching year after year for methods that would allow us to fall asleep faster and better. In a new study, scientists seem to have discovered a brand new method, writes Gizmodo. An international team of researchers from Canada and France found evidence that regular exposure to extreme cold can actually have a positive effect on the quality of our sleep, reports Focus. Note that we're talking about regularly staying in extremely cold temperatures for just 5 minutes a day. A team from the University of Montreal and the University of Poitiers conducted a cooling study aimed at tracking the potential benefits of daily whole-body “cryostimulation”. In the study, scientists studied healthy volunteers in a laboratory setting and found that the duration and quality of people's sleep increased while undergoing cold therapy. The scientists' findings suggest that cryostimulation is likely an effective treatment for people with sleep problems. A total of 9 women and 11 men, all in their 20s, participated in the study. The experiment lasted 5 days: every day at 6 PM, the volunteers undressed and stayed in a chamber cooled to -90 degrees Celsius for 5 minutes. Note that otherwise the volunteers lived as usual, but their lifestyle was limited by a ban on alcohol, caffeine and other products that can affect the quality of sleep. Recipients were also given devices that tracked their heart rate, brain activity and sleep patterns when they went to bed. In addition, study participants completed questionnaires that assessed sleep quality. As a control for comparison, volunteers underwent the same tracking procedure a second time, but did not actually receive any cold therapy before bedtime. The results indicate that the volunteers slept better after cryostimulation, but not immediately. The researchers note that the difference in results was not noticed until after the fifth day of sessions. The biggest changes were seen in slow-wave or deep sleep, the most restorative phase of sleep. The study authors note that on average, recipients' deep sleep increased by 7.3 minutes after cold therapy. Volunteers also reported improved sleep quality after undergoing cryostimulation, although on closer inspection, the change was only significant for women. The results of the study were published in the journal Cryobiology. However, the study authors note that you shouldn't rush out to buy yourself a man-sized freezer. First, the improvements in sleep are still quite modest. Second, the results are based on a small sample and require additional research.