Cold plunge: the benefits of immersing yourself in ice-cold water

It is called Cold plunge and it’s one of the wellnesstrends of 2024. It seems a difficult and somewhat extravagant trend: immersing oneself in water with ice chips for therapeutic purposes and specifically to recover muscle fatigued by physical training and to strengthen the immune system. Immersion in ice water, which is much praised on Instagram and TikTok, connects with the stoic philosophy, which has an excellent reputation these days. It is a challenge for practitioners. Entering the ice generates stress in the body – known as hormesis – which in the long term will have beneficial effects.

Cinthya Molina, a clinical psychologist at SHA Wellness Clinic, explains that immersion in the ice bath has both physical and mental benefits. “Soaking for up to three to four minutes in ice water reduces muscle and body swelling, improves peripheral circulation because the blood vessels constrict and then expand when you get out of the tub, activates the metabolism, burns more fat and strengthens the immune system”.

This practice became famous because top athletes, including Cristiano Ronaldo, used to do it every morning at home in an inflatable bathtub as a muscle recovery technique.

The major sacrifice is a combination of lowering the water temperature and increasing the immersion time. Some research has shown in professional athletes the effectiveness of such therapy in reducing inflammation and gaining muscle strength but other pilot work investigating the effects of ice water immersion in treating depression and anxiety disorder will be ready this year.

Immersion in cold water stimulates vasoconstriction, followed by dilatation, or vasodilatation, which occurs when you get out of the bath. This process promotes more efficient blood circulation, which can help improve the efficient delivery of nutrients and oxygen to the body’s tissues.

Exposure to cold triggers a natural anti-inflammatory response that relieves muscle and joint pain and mitigates chronic inflammation associated with various health conditions. It also activates brown fat, a type of adipose tissue that burns calories to generate heat. This process activates the metabolism and helps to maintain a healthy weight.

Regular exposure to cold has been associated with improvements in the immune system. It is believed that moderate stress induced by Cold plunge can activate immune responses, and strengthen the body’s ability to fight disease.

Cynthia Molina explains that “mentally, endorphins and noradrenaline and norepinephrine are released, and this reduces stress and improves the quality of sleep. It also trains resilience, which is our ability to overcome and cope with adversity. An ice bath is a mirror of how a person copes with stress and danger, how they resist discomfort.

Not everyone has a bathtub of ice at home for this practice, that’s a fact. However, there are other, simpler solutions for exposure to the cold. It is as easy as taking a shower with water at normal temperature and, once you’ve finished washing, turn down the water to as cold as possible, i.e. the last 30 to 60 seconds of the shower should be with ice-cold water. However, it is recommended to do it in the morning, as it is an activating and energising habit.

Regular practitioners often say – literally – that they “sleep like a baby” that night and have a general sense of well-being and energy boost, feeling sharp and bright during the day. “It is a personal challenge that improves self-esteem and self-perception,” says the psychologist.

An ice bath reaches a maximum of three degrees Celsius and is the start of a wonderful journey to wellness but… nobody said it would be easy.