Are Cold Baths And Showers Worth It?
INTRODUCTION
The concept of embracing cold baths or brief cold showers has gained significant popularity in recent years within the health and wellness community. Advocates argue that it can elevate your mood, enhance blood circulation, and contribute to greater mental resilience.
Intrigued by these claims, I decided to delve into this topic to assess whether taking a cold plunge or shower can genuinely exert a positive influence on our overall well-being. I invite you to explore this topic with me. 😊
HOW DO COLD BATHS WORK?
The proposed mechanism for how cold baths or showers work is that when your body comes into contact with cold water, it causes your blood vessels to constrict in order to minimize heat loss from your skin (also known as vasoconstriction). During vasoconstriction, your blood is redirected toward your organs, away from your extremities such as the skin, which delivers more oxygen and nutrients to internal organs.
In contrast, when you exit the cold waters, your blood vessels relax (vasodilation), allowing nutrient-rich oxygenated blood to return to your external tissues and remove any built-up waste products, such as lactic acid, that accumulated during exercise.
Now, let's explore some practical information regarding how to take cold baths and showers.
PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
The Water Temperature
Studies have indicated that for a cold bath or shower, a temperature of 10-15ºC is most effective in promoting muscle recovery and delivering the associated benefits. Any colder than this can be dangerous, especially for prolonged soaking.
Duration
The recommended duration varies depending on an individual's overall body mass, muscle mass, and fat mass, all of which can affect how long it takes for your body's core temperature to be impacted.
For beginners, it is advisable to start with 3-4 minutes in a cold bath and gradually increase the duration as you build resilience and experience.
Remember that prolonged exposure to cold water can also have adverse effects on your health.
10 REASONS WHY COLD BATHS AND SHOWERS MAY BE WORTH IT
Could Enhance Post Exercise Recovery
Studies have indicated that taking a cold dip after exercise has been shown to delay muscle soreness compared to other more passive interventions that involve only rest. In this way, exposure to colder water can provide relief to our sore muscles.
Additionally, the vasoconstriction that occurs when we are submerged in cold water causes blood vessels in our skin to reduce in size and constrict blood flow in order to minimize heat loss. This reduction in blood flow to our muscles reduces inflammatory responses in those areas of muscle damage after exercise, making it easier to recover afterward.
May Help In Reducing Pain
Cold water therapy has been shown to help with both short-term and long-term chronic pain. It achieves this by reducing inflammation levels in the body, which can otherwise accumulate and lead to persistent pain.
Additionally, a therapy known as contrast water therapy, where you alternate between hot and cold water, may also be beneficial in treating pain associated with conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and ankle sprains. This alternating between hot and cold water creates a pumping effect as our blood vessels expand and constrict, thereby boosting blood flow and delivering more oxygen and nutrients to our tissues, further aiding in the reduction of inflammation.
Could Boost Your Blood Circulation
As your blood vessels transition from a relaxed state to a constricted one and then back to a relaxed state, they contribute to improved blood circulation by facilitating the removal of various waste products from your body. This, in turn, leads to healthier tissues and organs.
May Elevate Your mood
A commonly reported post-cold dip experience is feeling more "alive" or "awake" in a psychological sense. This phenomenon may be attributed to the fact that taking cold dips can significantly increase dopamine concentration in your body, leading to a sense of well-being afterward.
This boost in dopamine can manifest as improved mental clarity, alertness, and overall cognitive acuity throughout the day, helping with concentration and staying more focused in stressful conditions.
Has Been Shown To Build Mental Resilience
It takes a considerable amount of willpower and mental strength to commit to a cold shower or dip. Gradually building your mental fortitude in this way can significantly aid in developing greater mental resilience, equipping you better to handle stressful situations in life.
Although being submerged in cold water does lead to a substantial increase in stress-related hormones such as adrenaline, epinephrine, and noradrenaline, the difference lies in the fact that once you return to a normal temperature, individuals have reported experiencing everyday stressors to a lesser degree or intensity. Additionally, they generally report higher overall well-being.
Reduces Inflammation
We have previously discussed inflammation in the context of muscle recovery. It is also important to note that exposure to colder temperatures reduces blood flow, which, in turn, limits swelling and the access of white blood cells to damaged muscle tissue. This can ultimately lead to reduced inflammation and, consequently, accelerate muscle recovery.
Reduces Stress Levels
One benefit of taking cold showers or baths is that you regularly expose your body to small amounts of stress, which over time leads to a process known as "hardening." During hardening, your body gradually becomes accustomed to handling moderate levels of stress, which can help you stay composed in everyday stressful situations.
Additionally, cold water therapy also trains your vagus nerve, which is the longest nerve in your autonomic nervous system responsible for regulating functions such as digestion, heart rate, and breathing (involuntary actions). Training this nerve with cold water exposure can make it easier to manage stress in your daily life.
If you are interested in learning more about how to better manage your stress levels, I have previously written about it here.
Encourages A More Alert State Of Mind
Some people prefer to begin their day with a cold shower, asserting that it helps wake them up and instills a lasting sense of alertness. This is because colder temperatures in the morning stimulate both circulation and breathing patterns, ensuring that more oxygen and nutrients are delivered to your organs and tissues throughout the day. This, in turn, helps you feel more energized in the process.
Strengthens Your Immune System
Some scientific studies have found that taking cold showers increases the number of white blood cells in your body, known for their role in protecting against diseases and enhancing the immune response to viruses and other pathogens.
Researchers believe that this improved immune response is a result of the increased metabolic rate you experience during cold water immersion, which indirectly stimulates your immune system.
If you are interested in learning more about the workings of your immune system and how to strengthen it, you can read further about it here.
May Help With Weight Loss
Exposure to cold water is known to increase resting metabolic rate, which is the amount of energy or calories your body burns in a day just to maintain its everyday systems. This can make weight loss easier.
Additionally, cold water also stimulates the generation of brown fat, which acts as a store of energy. This stored energy is later burned to maintain our core body temperature.
PRECAUTIONS
The first thing to note is to avoid spending too much time inside a cold bath or shower, as prolonged exposure can cause your body temperature to drop below healthy levels, potentially leading to adverse health effects, including hypothermia.
Additionally, individuals with preexisting cardiovascular disease or high blood pressure should be cautious about immersing themselves in cold water, as it can cause unnecessary contraction of blood vessels and slow down blood flow. This reduction in blood flow can be dangerous and increase the risk of cardiac arrest or stroke.
Furthermore, it is essential, especially for beginners, to lower themselves into a cold bath slowly, limb by limb. Rapid changes in temperature can be too shocking for the body, leading to increased feelings of panic and discomfort.
Finally, individuals with type I or II diabetes need to exercise caution in cold water, as these conditions can make it more challenging for the body to regulate its core temperature during extreme temperature changes.
🧠 KEY IDEAS
This week, we are discussing the widely talked-about topic of taking cold baths and showers and whether the discomfort of being under cold water is really worth all the hype.
✏️ REFERENCES
Bedosky, L. (2022, December 12). Potential Cold-Water therapy and ice bath benefits. EverydayHealth.com. https://www.everydayhealth.com/wellness/possible-health-benefits-to-cold-water-therapy/
5 Benefits Of Ice Baths: Everything You Need To Know About Cold Water Therapy | Gymshark Central. (n.d.). https://central.gymshark.com/article/5-benefits-of-ice-baths-everything-you-need-to-know-about-cold-water-therapy
Lindberg, S. (2023, March 8). Ice bath benefits: What the research says. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/exercise-fitness/ice-bath-benefits#takeaway
