Benefits of Cold Water Therapy (Cold Water Immersion)
This topic is about one of the least popular, but most effective recovery-improving habits we can develop and utilize…cold water therapy. I know! “Ugh! That sounds terrible!” But believe me, the benefits are staggering! They include but are not limited to:
- Reduced inflammation
- Improved immune system
- Increased metabolism/fat loss
- Increased energy/decreased stress
- Improved skin condition
Let’s take a deeper look at each benefit!
Reduced inflammation. Many Americans have problems with inflammation. For some, it is genetic. But for the vast majority of Americans, it is just due to poor health choices. But luckily we can reduce inflammation by making changes to our daily habits. Cold water treatment is one quick and effective method to help reduce inflammation. According to wimhofmethod.com, cold water exposure “reduces inflammation, swelling and sore muscles. Therefore, many athletes use ice baths and other types of exposure to cold as a means to speed up recovery after physical exercise.” Some of you may have seen Kevin Hart’s comedy series on YouTube in which he interviews athletes and celebrities in an ice bath. Although Kevin is obviously uncomfortable in the bath throughout the series, most of the athletes have no issue with it. One episode in particular sticks out to me with NBA player Blake Griffin. Kevin asked him “how often do you take an ice bath?” Blake answered “every day, I have one at my house.” And although it may seem extreme, I look at that as a valuable point that we need to understand. If you are serious about athletics, performance, or just want to improve your health, cold water treatment should be a part of your recovery regimen. As a personal testimony, I can vouch for this completely. As someone who trains in weightlifting, running, and martial arts, this has been vital in keeping my inflammation and muscle soreness down, and has allowed me to train at a high level six days per week.
Improved immune system. Although you may not prevent illness in your first 20-second cold shower, consistent cold-water treatment overtime may improve your immune system and leave you less vulnerable to illness. According to the North American Journal of Medical Sciences https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4049052, “repeated cold water stimulations reduced frequency of infections” in their hydrotherapy experiments. The more frequently you take cold showers or baths, the higher your chances are of improving your immune system.
Increased metabolism/fat loss. According to healthline.com, “taking a cold shower 2 or 3 times per week may contribute to increased metabolism. It may help fight obesity over time.” It went on to say “cold water can even out certain hormone levels and heal the gastrointestinal system. These effects may add to the cold shower’s ability to lead to weight loss.” Although you shouldn’t rely on a cold shower strictly to lose weight, if you make healthier food choices, practice portion control, and exercise more, adding a few cold showers or baths per week may increase not only your calories burned, but also build brown fat vice white fat, which increases metabolism over time.
Increased energy/decrease stress. Cold water treatment will also give you a feeling of increased energy where you actually FEEL more alive. Citing the North American Journal of Medical Sciences again, an “Antidepressive effect of cold shower attributed to presence of high density of cold receptors in skin expected to send an overwhelming amount of electrical impulses from peripheral nerve endings to the brain.” It actually helps with mental acuity and mental clarity! So if you struggle with a “foggy” feeling in your mind, perhaps cold water treatment can clear it up! Healthline.com also says that “Taking a cold shower for up to 5 minutes, 2 to 3 times per week, was shown to help relieve symptoms of depression.” So during critical times like these with the COVID-19 pandemic, cold water therapy may also help us manage stress better!
Improved skin condition. The decreased water temperature forces our bodies to work harder and therefore increase blood circulation. The result is glowing skin that is less itchy! Again, I can attest to this. As an alabaster Caucasian Lol, my skin gets incredibly dry during the winter. If I only take warm showers, I constantly need my wife to put lotion on my back because it is so dry! But if I stop taking warm showers and take daily cold baths, I no longer need her to lotion me up! Lol. It’s the truth.
Although this is not the complete list of health benefits behind cold water therapy, I believe it covers some of the most important areas of concern for people. Even though cold water therapy should not be considered a CURE for illnesses, evidence suggests that it can help everything from blood circulation to mental clarity to our metabolism. Now before you jump into an ice bath, you should always CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR. But I believe that many of you could be missing out on some incredible health benefits from just a little bit of initial discomfort. And trust me, once you do it a few times, you will get used to it and you will feel terrific!
I hope this helps a few of you! Have a blessed week!
Coach Rich
Richard Fitzgerald 