For most, you should be familiar with the term “Ice Bath” or you have heard the term “Polar Plunge”. Ice baths have been used for quite a while now for recovery from sports and various health benefits. Now, if you are like me, an ice bath is about as much fun as jumping into a cold swimming pool. Not very appealing. Let’s take a look at these versus cold showers or maybe even a cold bath.
The ice bath or cold plunge is a very effective tool for post-workout recovery. According to my research, ice baths have been used as early as 2500 BCE by the Egyptians. The Egyptians had used cold water for therapeutic bathing and for ritual purification. Around the 5th century BCE, Hippocrates, in Ancient Greece, recommended cold baths for “invigorating the body” and to treat fevers. The Greek athletes would also use cold water immersion after training. This extended to the Romans in the 1st century BCE, who were famous for their bath houses (thermae), which included cold plunge pools (frigidarium) as part of the hot-cold bathing cycle.
This was not only limited to the Egyptians, Greeks, and the Romans but has been found in China during the Tang Dynasty around 7-10th century as part of the Daoist longevity practices. Japan’s practice of misogi (Shinto purification) involved standing underneath cold waterfalls or immersing themselves in the cold rivers, which they believed would cleanse the body and spirit. Even Scandinavian cultures alternated between hot saunas and the icy lakes for centuries. This tradition is still in practice today.
In Europe, around the 1700s-1800s, cold water therapy (hydrotherapy) became popular in medicine. Doctors prescribed cold baths for fevers, mental health, and overall general wellness. An Austrian farmer, Vincent Priessnitz (1799-1851), the “father of hydrotherapy”, popularized cold water treatments for healing injuries and boosting health.
Since the early 1900s, ice packs and cold compresses have not only been used in sports medicine but also to reduce fevers. In the mid-20th century, cold water immersion was studied in relation to improved circulation, reducing inflammation, and recovery. A Dutch motivational speaker, extreme athlete, and influencer named Wim Hof, also known as “the Iceman”, was noted for his ability to withstand low temperatures. On March 16th, 2000, Hof set the Guinness Book of World Record for the farthest swim under the ice with a distance of 188.6 feet (57.5 meters).
I am sure that I have not convinced you to undertake cold plunges or ice baths just yet. Here are some benefits of taking ice baths:
- Reduced muscle soreness,
- Decreased inflammation by the constriction of blood vessels,
- Faster recovery,
- Improved circulation,
- Potential immune support,
- Pain relief
- Boost mental resilience – enduring cold builds stress tolerance and mental toughness,
- Improved mood,
- Better sleep quality,
- Metabolic effects, which I will elaborate on later.
Now with all the benefits of ice baths, there are some safety concerns. They are the risk of hypothermia by staying too long in the water, the shock to the system, which could result in gasping, hyperventilation, cardiac stress, or even possible heart risks for people with cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure or arrhythmias. There is also a risk of nerve or skin damage, or dizziness or fainting.
The general guideline is to keep the bath around 50-59 degrees Fahrenheit (10-15 degrees Celsius) for a period of only 5-10 minutes maximum. As you can tell, the intensity of ice baths is extreme. Maybe you don’t want to shock the body that much and would rather subject yourself to something less extreme, like cold showers.
The general guidelines for cold showers are a temperature of 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit (15-21 degrees Celsius). It is definitely a milder exposure to the cold and less shock to your system. Cold showers have a lot of the benefits of the ice bath, like improving circulation, some pain relief, building mental toughness, a milder mood boost, and general wellness.
As I mentioned, I would get back to the metabolic effect benefits. When your body is subjected to a degree of temperature, its normal response is to get your body temperature back up to the standard 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. It does this by activating the brown adipose tissue or brown fat (BAT). Your body burns calories to generate heat. The cold exposure stimulates brown fat, which increases energy expenditure. This means that your body uses more fuel just to stay warm. There is a belief that regular exposure to the cold may improve metabolic efficiency and help to regulate body weight. The cold exposure will also stimulate the growth of new mitochondria. More mitochondria means better energy production, metabolic flexibility, improved endurance, energy levels, and fat oxidation.
I found this last part very interesting. When you shiver and your brown fat activates, your metabolism ramps up. Norepinephrine helps mobilize fat from storage, increasing alertness and focus. This is known as Thermogenesis. A pretty good way to start your day.
A couple of years ago, I heard a story about the Olympic swimmer, Michael Phelps. Michael Phelps was known not only for his Olympic medals, but for his insane calorie intake, which was around 8,000-12,000 calories a day during peak training. The fact that seemed to stump a lot of people is that the math did not add up. Michael Phelps only spent around 5-6 hours in the pool. There is no way it would justify 8,000-12,000 calories a day. They did not take into account the effects of thermogenesis. You see water conducts heat away from the body 25x faster than air. Even in a heated pool (around 78-82 degrees Fahrenheit), there is still a major separation between the standard body temperature of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Michael Phelps’ body was not only burning calories from the exercise but from his body constantly needing to generate heat, constant thermogenesis. Years of training in these conditions likely made his brown fat more active. His body became more efficient at using food for energy rather than storing it.
The last type, if you thought I forgot, is the cool bath. Remember that any temperature that is below your standard body temperature of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit will trigger the thermogenesis effect. A cool bath where the temperature is approximately 75 degrees and the time spent in the bathtub is 30-60 minutes will be more relaxing than challenging. Remember back in your childhood, the time you spent in the pool during the summer months. You would probably spend hours in the pool and not really think about the amount of time. If you spend this time, like me, watching YouTube videos or listening to music, it will engage the whole relaxation effect. It will have calming and mild recovery effects, and added sleep support.
The first time I took a cool bath, I spent over an hour, and the temperature was dropping, where I started to notice the cold. When I got out of the tub, I was noticeably hungry. This makes sense, since the thermogenesis effect of warming my body had been going on for over an hour. I challenge any of my readers to try this. Please leave a comment if it works for you or doesn’t. I am really curious since not all practice works for all people. Stay healthy.
