Specialists consider it safe to stay submerged in an ice bath for 2-5 minutes. Increase the duration gradually to 15 minutes. Get out as soon as you start shaking or shivering. This will minimize health risks such as hypothermia and frostbite.
Start With Short Durations. When first starting, staying in an ice bath for no more than 10 minutes at a time is recommended. This short duration helps your body acclimate to the cold temperature. As your body becomes more accustomed to the cold, you can gradually increase the time spent in the ice bath.
After an ice bath, your body temperature rises, and blood flow returns to your tissues. Ice baths may help improve alertness, reduce pain, and decrease inflammation. As a result, they may offer health benefits like reduced muscle soreness, pain relief, and improved mood. However, the research is very limited.
Experts don't agree on the ideal length of a cold plunge, but you can safely work up to 5-10 minutes in cold water. For recovery after a workout, 2-3 minutes in an ice bath is enough time to get all the benefits.
It takes a lot of energy to keep your body warm, so you'd think that calories would melt away. However, studies show that a ten-minute cold plunge will only burn 10-20 additional calories.
It's best to keep it quick, starting with three minutes and maxing out at five. “Start low and go slow,” Dr. King advises. “Don't go too cold and don't go for more than five minutes, just to make sure you can tolerate it.”
Ice baths can be an especially effective way to burn fat outside of the gym. When you're exposed to cold conditions, your body activates a special type of fat, known as brown fat, to help you stay warm.
While cold plunging has numerous benefits, staying submerged for too long can introduce potential risks. Prolonged exposure to colder temperatures may lead to hypothermia, where the body loses heat faster than it can produce, resulting in symptoms like shivering, confusion, and fatigue.
However, there are some more serious risks to taking an ice bath that are worth making note of before you do so: Hypothermia: your body temperature can begin to drop after one to three minutes submerged in water less than 70 degrees Fahrenheit – increasing the risk of hypothermia.
If you're feeling more tired than usual, your body could be struggling to recover from the cold-induced stress. While cold plunges are intended to invigorate and refresh, too much exposure can have the opposite effect, leaving you feeling drained and exhausted instead of rejuvenated.
In fact, studies have shown that using an ice bath every day for 30 days can promote a variety of health benefits. However, this is not something that's for everyone, and the stress such an activity puts on the body can build up over time.
There's no evidence that cold showers help with weight loss. But they still may provide other benefits for your metabolism. Cold water immersion can activate brown fat cells, which then burn fat to create more energy. Some studies suggest this can help regulate insulin levels and help prevent diabetes.
Don't take a warm bath or shower soon after your cold session.
Research shows that you get the most benefit from cold treatment if you immerse yourself for up to 20 minutes. If you're new to ice baths, it will probably be difficult to stay put for longer than a few minutes. Building a tolerance base to endure discomfort for a bit longer each time is part of the process.
The morning hours can be an excellent time to dive into a cold plunge routine. With the body just awakening from sleep, the shock of cold water triggers the sympathetic nervous system, giving you an instant energy boost and heightened alertness.
When the body is then exposed to warmth, it speeds up blood flow in the affected areas, promoting faster recovery. Balancing this process is crucial to obtaining the full benefits of the ice bath. With that in mind, it is generally recommended to wait at least 2 hours before taking a warm shower or bath.
The cold water constricts blood vessels and stimulates circulation. This rush of blood to the face helps deliver oxygen and nutrients to the skin cells, promoting a healthy and radiant complexion. Improved circulation also aids in reducing puffiness and under-eye bags.
Regular cold water immersion can recalibrate your body's internal systems, promoting a steady and enhanced detox process. By making cold therapy a staple in your wellness routine, you're encouraging your body to maintain a heightened state of metabolic activity, which is essential for flushing out toxins.
For example, if you take a 10-minute cold plunge every day, you could burn around 80-90 calories per day, or 560-630 calories per week. While this is not enough to cause significant weight loss on its own, it can be a helpful addition to a weight loss program that includes exercise and a healthy diet.
Short Duration (1-3 minutes)
2-3 minutes of cold immersion seems to be the sweet spot, especially when starting out. Some of the benefits of a short-duration plunge are: Improved muscle recovery and reduction of soreness in athletes [2] or fitness enthusiasts. Improves circulation and flow of blood.
Afterdrop is the continued cooling of your body's core temperature after exiting cold water. This can cause symptoms such as shivering, hypothermia, and feeling unwell. It occurs because your body shuts down circulation to the skin during cold water immersion as a survival mechanism to preserve heat in the core.
His ice bath routine involves filling up a bathtub with cold water and adding a few bags of ice to bring the temperature down to around 50°F (10°C). Rogan then submerges himself in the ice bath for 10-20 minutes. Joe also uses his cold plunge pro by Sun Home at his home for daily ice baths.
The idea is that the colder your body is, the harder it is working internally to heat itself up, burning excess calories along the way. However, strapping an ice pack to your stomach or to the targeted area won't yield the results that you want.
Taking cold showers every day for 30 days may lead to increased energy levels and alertness as well as improved overall health. Your skin and hair may feel and look better due to the reduced drying and irritating effects of a hot shower. However, remember, individual responses to cold therapy vary.
The second benefit of using ice baths for anxiety is the ability to improve hormonal balance. Anxiety and depression is caused because of the chemistry in our bodies and brains, and we have the ability to improve this chemistry through cold water immersion.