One 2016 study found people who switched to cold showers for 30, 60, or 90 seconds for 90 days called in sick to work 29% less than people who didn't switch to cold showers. Improved circulation is another potential health benefit of ice baths.
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.
Cold water and your immune system
One study found that having 30-second cold showers every morning for 60 days could decrease the number of sick days by 30%. So a cold shower might be all you need!
Don't jump into the full 15 minutes: Start with 2-5 minutes and slowly increase your time in an ice bath. Over several weeks, move up to 10 minutes and eventually 15 minutes. Only immerse part of your body: Start by taking ice baths that only immerse your legs.
The sweet spot for cold plunging is somewhere between two and five minutes. Stay in any longer and the benefits diminish. If you stay in for too long, your body temperature may drop too low and you could suffer from hypothermia. As a rule of thumb, if you start shivering it's probably time to get out.
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.
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.
“An ice bath can cause reduction in blood flow to the extremities in peripheral vascular disease; increase in blood pressure in those with high blood pressure and increased risk of hypothermia in patients with impaired ability to regulate body temperature — as may be the case with poorly-controlled diabetes,” said Dr ...
After a cold plunge, dry off and warm up by getting dressed in dry clothes. You can sip a warm beverage and move to a heated area. But don't head straight for a sauna or hot tub, because the extreme heat could cause too much stress on your body.
Cold water immersion can significantly lower cortisol levels, a hormone that inhibits testosterone production when elevated. By reducing cortisol, cold plunge therapy may create an environment more favorable for testosterone production.
Boosts Metabolism and Weight Loss
Regular cold showers stimulate the production of brown fat, a type of fat that generates heat by burning calories. Over time, this can aid in weight management and potentially support weight loss efforts when combined with a balanced diet and exercise.
There's no evidence suggesting how often someone should take a cold shower. But Dr. Hame recommends using cold therapy in response to your athletic endeavors — if you work out daily, it's OK to take a cold shower every day.
Specifically for skin health, cold water therapy has been shown to reduce inflammation, stimulate collagen production, and regulate sebum production, leading to improved skin elasticity, reduced pore size, and a healthier complexion.
"A 3-minute cold plunge is a great way to activate the nervous system and get the blood flowing," says Dr. Rhonda Patrick, a neuroscientist and science communicator. "The cold shock response can have a number of health benefits, including improved circulation, reduced inflammation, and increased energy levels."
How many calories does a 30-minute cold bath burn? A 30-minute cold bath can burn approximately 150-300 calories, depending on your body's response and the temperature of the water. Remember, the exact number can vary from person to person.
Should you take an ice bath every day? While not recommended, it is possible to take a cold plunge every single day and still feel the benefits.
Taking a cold plunge in an Ice Barrel can activate the brown adipose and muscles in your body. Once activated, irisin and FGF will be released (irisin and FGF are cold-induced endocrine activators of brown fat function in humans). These two hormones burn up the white fat tissues resulting in weight loss.
Essentially, when you expose yourself to colder temperatures, your body will naturally constrict your blood vessels in order to keep your internal organs warm. This is why you may find your fingers and toes get numb after longer cold plunges.
As long as you're in good health and don't have any underlying conditions (more on that in a moment), cold plunges may bring some relief to your sore muscles, improve circulation and even help with sleep. “There's no doubt that some people get great relief from using ice baths,” Dr. King shares.
Cold showers are reported to offer a number of physical and mental health benefits. Cold shower benefits may include improvements in circulation, immunity, energy, mental clarity, and skin and hair health.
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.
Our body wants to avoid losing too much heat
One is "cold-induced diuresis", or an increase in urine excretion in response to the cold. Initially, blood is diverted away from the skin to avoid losing its heat to the outside air. This means more blood ends up flushing through your internal organs.
PLUNGE on X: "Joe Rogan takes his ice baths at 34 degrees.
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.