What Is a Cold Plunge?
A cold plunge or cold water immersion is a short dip in cold water that may offer some health perks. Long used by athletes to help with muscle recovery, cold plunges have become popular with a range of people looking for physical and mental health benefits.
You can do a cold plunge at home in a bathtub with ice or in an outdoor cold plunge tub. You can also head to a chilly lake or the ocean for a quick swim, though you'll need to take certain safety measures.
How to Do a Cold Plunge
There are many ways to do a cold plunge. The basic idea is to partially or totally submerge your body in cold water for a few minutes.
First, check with your doctor to be sure that a cold plunge is safe for you. If you have a heart condition or take certain medications, it may not be a good idea.
Then, prepare yourself mentally and physically. Have a towel and dry clothes close by so you can warm up right after your plunge. Ready your mind for the discomfort that is coming, and commit to your goal of getting into the cold water.
To make an ice bath, fill a bathtub halfway with cold water and add about three large bags of ice. Aim for a temperature of 50-60 Fahrenheit. Or, start with warmer water and work your way toward lower temperatures after you’ve tried a few cold plunges. The ideal temperature depends on what your goals are.
You can prepare an outdoor cold plunge using a collapsible tub, 100-gallon stock tank, or a tub designed for cold plunges. In cold locations, you may not need ice to keep the water cold.
If you’re going to take a plunge in a body of water like a lake, stream, or ocean, it’s important to stay safe.
- Make sure the water is clean, safe for swimming, and doesn't have a current that could sweep you downstream or underneath ice.
- Check the water temperature so you know what to expect.
- Bring a buddy, or, better yet, go with a group of experienced cold plungers.
- Enter the water slowly. Immersing yourself too quickly can send your body into cold shock, in which your breathing and heart rate quickly change and you gasp for air.
- Don’t go into water deeper than your waist or chest. Cold shock can make even strong swimmers lose their ability to stay afloat.
- Keep your head above water.
No matter where you take your first cold plunge, start with a short one. Try 30 seconds to a minute. After a few plunges, you can train your body to stay in the cold water longer, working up to 5-10 minutes. You can also take breaks and do a few shorter dips in a row.
While you’re in the water, listen to your body. Your breathing may be irregular at first, but it should stabilize. If your breathing doesn’t calm down, you start to feel lightheaded or dizzy, or you feel chest discomfort or pain, get out of the water. If your fingers or toes start to change color, get out right away and warm up to avoid frostbite or hypothermia.
Dry off and warm up as soon as you finish your plunge.
Cold Plunge Benefits
Why would anyone subject themselves to an icy plunge? Research points to quite a few physical and mental health benefits, although we need more and bigger studies to gain a clearer understanding of them.
Muscle recovery. Ice baths can help easing soreness after exercise. The cold makes your blood vessels tighten and may lessen muscle damage and inflammation.
If you’re a more serious athlete, you may want to skip the ice bath after strength training, though. Researchers have found that the cold water slows muscle growth. It’s fine after endurance workouts.
Stress resistance. Could shocking your body with cold water actually lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone? That’s what some research has found. Study participants’ cortisol levels were lower after a cold swim. In one study, they continued to go down after 4 weeks of regular cold plunges.
Resilience. When you tackle something challenging, like dunking yourself in ice water, you train your mind and body to be able to take on hard things. This builds resilience that just might translate into other areas of your life.
Immune system boost. While it's a common (but false) belief that being out in cold weather can make you catch a cold, this doesn’t seem to be the case for people who take cold plunges. There's even some evidence that regular cold-water plunges can help your immune system. This might be because the stress hormones your body releases when you do a cold plunge help prepare it to fight off sickness. But we need more research to say for sure.
Blood sugar. Regular cold plunges may help your insulin sensitivity, or your body’s ability to lower your blood sugar. This can help protect you from type 2 diabetes.
Heart health. Some research suggests your overall heart health improves as your body adapts to cold-water immersion. But when you submerge yourself in cold water, it puts lots of stress on your heart right away. It’s possible that the short-term danger isn't worth the longer-term gains.
Mood boost: Many people find that cold plunges just make them feel good. Some studies support this, finding that people who dipped in cold water reported feeling better afterward. This could be because when you hit the water, your body releases endorphins, hormones that ease stress and improve mood. Some researchers have even suggested that cold plunges could be used as part of a treatment plan for depression.
Are cold plunges good for you?
While we don't have definite answers, the research is promising when it comes to some health benefits of cold plunges. They do seem to be good for soothing your muscles after a workout and for boosting your mood. But there are dangers, especially if you plunge in open water. And if you have certain health conditions, cold plunges may not be good for you.
Cold Plunge Side Effects
Cold plunges can come with some side effects that you should be prepared to handle.
- Fast breathing. When you suddenly plunge into icy water, your body can go into cold shock. This causes gasping and rapid breathing that you can't control. This can be dangerous if you inhale water.
- Higher blood pressure. Cold shock also causes your blood pressure to quickly rise.
- Increased heart rate. Your heart rate could spike when you enter the water, another sign of cold shock.
- Confusion or panic. Cold shock can make you less able to think clearly and make decisions.
- Numbness. In the cold water, blood rushes away from your hands, feet, and other extremities in order to protect your vital organs. This could make parts of your body feel numb.
- Weakness or being unable to move your body normally. Less blood flow in your hands and feet can make it hard for you to control your muscles and could lead to loss of strength and coordination.
- Hypothermia. If you stay in cold water too long, your body temperature could drop so low that you get hypothermia, which is a medical emergency. This can happen even in water that isn’t very cold. Symptoms include shivering, slurred speech, drowsiness, shallow breathing, and confusion.
- Chance of drowning. With some of these side effects, you may have a higher chance of drowning, especially if you're in open water.
Who shouldn’t do a cold plunge?
Cold plunges can pose dangers if you have heart disease or any history of a heart condition. The cold water puts stress on your heart, and rapid breathing from cold shock could cause irregular heartbeats or even a heart attack. This is especially dangerous if you already have heart issues.
Check with your doctor about whether any medications you take could make cold plunges unsafe. If you take medication that lowers your blood pressure or heart rate, your body could have a harder time adapting to a cold plunge.
It’s always a good idea to talk to your doctor before you try a cold plunge. If you have any of these medical conditions, cold plunges may not be safe for you:
- Heart problems
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Poor blood flow
- Raynaud’s phenomenon, a condition that affects blood flow in your fingers
- Peripheral neuropathy (nerve pain)
- Venous stasis, which affects blood flow to your legs
- Cold agglutinin disease, which damages red blood cells
Takeaways
A cold plunge is a short dip in cold water that can soothe muscles after a workout, boost your mood, and possibly provide other health benefits. But there are risks, especially if you plunge in open water or have certain health conditions. It's best to check with your doctor before trying a cold plunge.
Cold Plunge FAQs
What does a cold plunge do to the body?
During a cold plunge, your body has to work hard to keep all your organs at a healthy temperature. Your blood vessels tighten to slow your blood flow and limit heat loss. If you stay in long enough, you'll start to shiver, which generates heat.
The shock of the cold water can temporarily raise your heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate.
How long should you stay in a cold plunge?
Beginners should start with a short plunge of 30 seconds to a minute. 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.
If you stay in a cold plunge for longer than 30 minutes, you're in danger of getting hypothermia.
What should you not do after a cold plunge?
After a cold plunge, don't shock your system by heading straight to a hot environment like a hot tub or sauna. On the other hand, you don’t want to stay wet and cold, especially if you’re outdoors or in a cold environment.
Skip alcohol and tobacco while you’re warming up after a plunge. They can harm your body’s warming process.
Is a cold shower as good as a cold plunge?
A cold shower offers many of the same benefits as a cold plunge and is easier to do at home. It’s a great way to try out cold water immersion or start to get your body used to the cold before you go for a full plunge.
Do cold plunges burn fat?
One of your body’s natural defenses against cold involves “brown fat” that creates heat for you. There's limited evidence that you burn this type of fat when you’re exposed to cold therapy. Your body only has a small amount of brown fat, though. So a cold plunge isn't going to burn a noticeable amount of fat.
Should I warm up after a cold plunge?
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.
Can you overdo a cold plunge?
While it’s safe to do a cold plunge every day, it’s possible to overdo it in a few ways. If you jump into cold water too fast, it can shock your body and cause problems with your breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, or mental state.
If you stay in cold water for too long, your body temperature could dip so low that you get hypothermia. You could also get numbness in your limbs or frostbite.
Why am I so exhausted after a cold plunge?
While many people feel energized by a cold plunge, it makes sense that you might feel tired after one. Your body has to work hard to handle the stress of being submerged in very cold water, and it puts a lot of energy into conserving your body heat.
What should I do right after an ice bath?
Right after an ice bath you should dry off, change into dry clothes, and warm up slowly.