Frequent exposure to cold, such as 'indulging' in an ice bath, is linked to a number of health benefits.

It was made popular by Wim Hof, aka the iceman.

Fun fact: If you say 'an ice bath' quickly.... it sounds like a nice bath ;-)

HEALTH BENEFITS OF COLD EXPOSURE

BUILDS YOUR RESILIENCE

You've probably heard the saying 'What doesn't kill you makes your stronger'... well, there is some truth to it.

Regularly exposing yourself to a 'good' stressor leads to a process called hormesis.

Example of good stressors that induce hormesis are exercise, sauna, fasting and of course, cold exposure.

Hormesis is pretty cool! It’s when you push your body just the right amount and it responds by becoming more resilient.

Resilience is the ability to bounce back and recover quickly from adversity, trauma, or any kind of injury. It’s the secret to living a long, youthful life.

We talked about the negative impact of stress a lot throughout this program, but let's explore the positive side of stress for a change. Your body actually thrives on occasional stress or even toxin exposure. It responds by ramping up growth and repair, to bring you back to balance.

Indeed, low levels of a good kind of stress stimulates or up-regulate existing cellular and molecular pathways that improve the capacity of cells and organisms to withstand greater stress, leading to long-term adaptations, and a better ability to handle stress.

In other words, the difference between a 'good' stressor and a 'bad' stressor is that you bounce back from the 'good' one stronger than you were before. It's also important to understand that any good stressor can become a bad one if you push too hard... don't overdo it!

The discomfort you get during a cold bath (which is actually experienced in your brain rather than in your body) also trains your nervous system to gradually get used to handling moderate levels of stress, which helps you to keep a cool head the next time you find yourself in a stressful situation.

As an aside, even the ups and downs of everyday life can make you more resilient. Indeed, every time you endure adversity, you build your resilience to future adversity. So next time you experience a difficult time in your life, recognize that you will get to the other side, and you will come back stronger than you were before.

Fun fact: Plant antioxidants (aka phytochemicals / flavonoids) are a form of hormetic stress as well. So all those superfoods don't actually directly act as antioxidants, but rather cause minor stress in our body, which than stimulates your own body to produce more endogenous antioxidant in response. So if you skip your veggies for dinner, have an ice bath instead ;-)

TONES YOUR VAGUS NERVE

As your body adjusts to the cold, the vagus nerve is stimulated, which is connected to many important organs, such as your digestive organs, by means of the parasympathetic nervous system.

The resulting increase in parasympathetic activity (aka rest and digest response) has positive effects on all kinds of conditions such as anxiety, depression, and gut problems.

Increasing your vagal tone is also another way in which regular cold exposure makes you more resilient to stress.

BOOSTS YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM AND DECREASES INFLAMMATION

Scientific studies have found that regular exposure to cold increases the amount of white blood cells, in particular Cytotoxic T cells responsible for killing cancer cells & virally infected cells

Cold can also increase the neurotransmitter norepinephrine (aka noradrenaline) by up to 200%, which can lower pain & unruly inflammation & decrease levels of several inflammatory mediators.

IMPROVES PERFORMANCE AND RECOVERY

Because it reduces inflammation, it's a popular practice among athletes to have an ice bath immediately after training.

However, unlike low grade chronic inflammation, the inflammatory response that occurs immediately after exercise is actually productive, inducing the body’s repair mechanisms ensuring that you recover optimally and that your muscle heal and grow. 

If you interrupt your body’s pro-inflammatory response with cold therapy immediately after exercise, you may actually reduce the benefits from exercise (especially muscle growth) and inhibit performance. Instead of doing an ice bath right away, waiting about an hour post-exercise, after the peak pro-inflammatory process, may improve performance and recovery.

INCREASES YOUR WILLPOWER

It takes a strong mind to endure the cold for extended periods of time. By incorporating cold baths (or other cold exposure... see more below) into your life regularly, you are strengthening your willpower, which benefits many aspects of your daily life.

WEIGHT LOSS

Research has shown that exposure to cold, in addition to increasing metabolic rate directly, stimulates the generation of brown fat, which it the good type of fat (as opposed to white fat).

Brown fat is a specific type of fat tissue that generates energy and keep you warm by burning calories.

FLUSHES WASTE OUT OF YOUR BODY

Your lymphatic system is activated by cold exposure, helping speed the clearance of toxins from tissues throughout the body.

Indeed, when exposed to cold, especially via an ice bath, your vessels constrict because of the cold and open back up when your body warms up after. This process helps to flush metabolic waste from your body, while also getting oxygen and nutrients to your muscles.

That's another reason why ice baths have become a popular practice among athletes to recover quickly after training, it helps flush the lactic acid out of the body quickly.

IMPROVES ENERGY, FOCUS AND ATTENTION

The neurotransmitter norepinephrine plays an important role in focus, attention and mood.

As I mentioned above, cold exposure can increase this neurotransmitter by up to 200%, which is why you can feel more alert and energised after cold exposure, with a positive shift in your mood. Yes please!

HOW TO DO AN ICE BATH

Ice baths are the best way to get exposure to cold and reap the benefits, and it's easy to do at home.

The first one is hard and will probably lead to a bit of high pitched squealing... but it does get easier! Eventually, you even start looking forward to it ;-)

1- You will need 1 or 2 bags of ice, enough to bring the temperature of your bath water to 13-16°Celcius (55-60°F).

2- Fill the bathtub about halfway with cold water. Start adding your ice and check the temperature as you do so. Stop when you have reached the desired temperature of 13-16°Celcius (55-60°F). Once you have done it a few times, you'll know exactly how much to add. You can have your first cold bath a bit warmer to get used to it.

3- It's time to get in! It's important to get in slowly. As you get in, you will naturally start breathing very slowly and deeply, which is very calming. Try to submerge as much of your body as possible.

4- Stay in the water for 10 to 20 minutes. Close your eyes and keep taking slow, deep breaths. If at any point you start feeling too cold or shaky, get out and warm yourself quickly.

5- When finished, get out of the bath, dry yourself quickly and put some warm clothes on. If you need to, wrap yourself in a warm blanket.

It's a good idea to wear some foot booties or warm socks to protect your feet from freezing... they don't tolerate the cold quite as well as the rest of your body!

If you don't have a bath, you can use a kids pool or even a clean rubbish bin.

ALTERNATIVE TO ICE BATHS

Face dunk: This involves emerging your face in a bowl of ice water. It stimulates something called the diver's reflex, which is one of the many ways to stimulate your vagus nerve.

It's a great thing to do before bed as is it will bring you in a parasympathetic state, helping you get to sleep faster.

Cold Showers: A daily cold shower is a good alternative to ice baths, especially in winter, when the thought of having a cold bath is really not as appealing!

The temperature of the water in the shower has to be cold enough though, which might not happen in summer in warmer climates. Basically... if it's more refreshing than anything else, it's not cold enough ;-)

When done in the morning, it can help you feel more energised and improve your focus. When done in the evening, it can actually promote deeper, most restorative sleep.

Cryotherapy: Whole Body Cryotherapy (WBC) involves short exposure to extreme cold via a cryochamber – a human-sized tank filled with liquid nitrogen-cooled air. Exposure can vary from 2-3 minutes in temperatures that plummet to -130°C.

Alternating cold and hot: This is common practice in many countries, such as taking a sauna and then diving in the snow or in a very cold pool. This can be easier to do for many people and is an excellent alternative, if you happen to have access to a sauna. You can also alternate between hot and cold shower.

WARNING

If you have a serious health condition, such as heart problems, consult your doctor before engaging in any of those practices.