You may have heard about a friend, colleague or family member who's been talking about how they take cold showers, ice baths, or taking a dip in the sea. Now I know what probably goes on in your head..
Why? Why put yourself through that?
Well, there is certainly method to the madness, and there is a reason there is such a vast following developing in the world right now around cold exposure.
Here are 10 ways ice baths can be extremely beneficial, and not just for athletes:
- Reduce inflammation and pain: Cold water immersion constricts blood vessels temporarily. Then as you step out, the rapid increase in body temperature opens up blood vessels and rushed blood round your muscles, reducing inflammation and alleviating pain.
- Improve muscle recovery: Ice baths can help to reduce the severity of microtears in muscles, allowing them to recover more quickly. They also help to remove lactic acid from muscles, which can reduce soreness and improve overall recovery time.
- Enhance athletic performance: Ice baths can improve your body's ability to recover between workouts, reduce muscle damage, and improve circulation and oxygen delivery to your muscles, which can improve your endurance and help you perform at a higher level for longer periods of time.
- Boost immune system function: Cold water immersion can stimulate the production of white blood cells, which can improve overall immune system function and reduce the risk of getting sick.
- Improve mental health: Ice baths can increase the production of endorphins, which can reduce stress, improve mood, and enhance overall well-being.
- Increased tolerance to cold: Acclimation (acclimatisation) is a process by which your body gradually adapts itself to cold water through repeated exposure. Through acclimation, it’s possible to greatly reduce or eliminate cold shock.
- Improve mental resilience: We all know how hard jumping into a cold bath or shower can be. But if you build up a routine of exposing yourself to ice baths/cold dips, you build a lot of discipline which will help translate into other areas in life.
- Reduce fatigue: Ice baths can help to reduce fatigue and improve energy levels, making it easier to perform daily activities.
- Increase metabolism: Cold water immersion can increase metabolism by activating brown fat cells, which can help to burn more calories and improve weight loss efforts.
- Improve sleep quality: Ice baths can improve sleep quality and duration by reducing stress and promoting relaxation. Cold exposure, particularly before bed, helps release melatonin, the sleep hormone, to help you fall asleep faster.
So now you know why cold exposure is taking the world by storm.
That's why everyone is jumping in their sea, or taking the plunge in a full-body submerging tank such as the KAL Pod.
So, are you ready to #taketheplunge?