#1

I love the sauna but only occasionally cold plunge. My main concern is safety as I am wary of sudden vasoconstriction. I do brief cold showers daily without difficulty. What are your practices and benefits gained thus far?

Here is the study in 2002 in Sports Medicine provided some caution on cold plunges on older people:

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#2

Yes, even in younger populations this may be an issue. I think it was Rhonda Patrick who mentioned she felt like she almost fainted when she went from a hot sauna to a cold pool / plunge once.

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#3

For me it seems to be the opposite: it seems to take me a longer time than others to even start sweating in saunas (in general, and in Scandinavian-type - dry heat - saunas even longer than in Hammam / Turkish steam bath saunas ) but once I finally sweat I start to feel like fainting and cannot wait to get out and jump in cold water .
And after doing this a couple of times I feel reborn and also relaxed, nothing worries me than anymore ( and I sleep better)

Another thing is taking cold showers : I only do it after sweating from sports; otherwise it doesn’t make me feel good …

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#4

I think this may be the most effective cold-plunge technique I’ve seen (see the video I’ve posted below); a good way to wake up in the morning and get that heart moving a little faster. As shown here, there are a number of variations you can try and see what works best for you :wink:

Personally I find the approach of “jumping into a small snow-surrounded pool from 130 feet up while holding tightly onto two viking battle axes” the most effective form of hormetic stress. I think this technique is probably common in the Scandinavian countries… where its easier to get the viking battle axes.

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#5

“Cold showers are about as fun as they sound. Some swear by them, some can’t live without them, and the rest of the population is not clinically insane. I was once like this”

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#6

@desertshores I agree. I was once addicted to my freezing cold showers. I hated and loved it. But I only spend 3 minutes total in the shower so I don’t take time for that anymore. The only functional improvement I could tell was an increased tolerance for cold temperatures. A useful feature.

#7

Is there any actual data to support cold immersion, or it just the fad of the year?

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#8

I do a modified version: three days a week I use the very hot whirlpool at the gym for about 15 minutes, then go directly into the pool and swim laps for about 55 minutes, then come back out and go directly back into the hot whirlpool for 10-15 minutes. I do this in the morning, fasted. I had been doing this twice a week and could really tell it was making me feel better so increased to three times a week and I am convinced it helps with sleep and overall well being. It’s not hot/cold plunge as the pool is in the eighties, but it is hormesis enough for me. I do not dread it – I actually enjoy it.

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#9

We converted a deep freeze into a cold plunge that we keep next to the house on our patio, running between 3 and 7 degrees celcius. It’s been a game-changer for my wife who has a herniated disc and chronic back pain. The cold seems to help her immensely, if she doesn’t plunge for a week or so the back pain comes back. Before cold plunges she tried everything including stem cell injections to help but only ever found temporary relief, the pain would always come back. If she does a daily cold plunge for 3 minutes, no pain.

My father in law was a stuntman and had some serious injuries and chronic pain as well - same thing, cold plunge has dramatically improved his life.

Anecdotally for myself, I think it can be effective for fat loss if you let your body warm up naturally after (ie don’t hop in a warm shower or sauna afterwards) as your metabolism increases to warm your body up.

There is also some science about cold shock proteins which can help muscle growth if a cold plunge is performed prior to a weight training session.

TLDR - our family swears by the plunge

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#10

Also should mention that you can get a strong dopamine release from doing a cold plunge (equivalent to what you would get from cocaine but lasting for hours), which makes them kind of addictive.

#11

I love the repurposing of a deep freeze as a cold plunge pool :grinning:

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#12

My modified version is going to Costco veggie room, stay there for 5 min while reading my email :sweat_smile:

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#13

That only applies to some people. If that were the case for me, I would still be doing it.
Yes, I am old enough to have tried most of the health and fitness fads.

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#14

How clever! I like that! (the veggie cold room at Costco)

You have inspired me to start looking for more new ways to get the cold. Of course, the obvious one would be to do the morning and evening walk with the dog in a tee shirt in winter since I live near the “north coast.”

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#15

After I’m done with my regular shower I just turn off the hot water and stand there for a minute or two under the cold water. I like the shocking sensation and the feeling of virtue it provides.

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#16
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#17

The real “benefit” of cold therapy is the test of Freewill. If you do not have freewill you cannot do cold therapy…you will always be able to rationalize away any potential benefit and identify all possible detriments.

I think there are a mix of benefits and detriments from cold therapy. So, for me, assuming I am right, the only good reason to do it is to see if I am in control of myself.

I do not do cold therapy currently. There is my answer.

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#18

To see if your willpower can overcome your inherent risk vs reward?

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#19

Perhaps the most extensive collection of data and articles on cold exposure (CE) is the lengthy topic started by Dean Pomerlau in the CR society forum. Longevity benefits, benefits to the immune system, metabolic benefits (brown fat proliferation) and so on.

In addition to the above, I also remember some literature articles proposed by Dr. Sehult of Medcram, detailing the benefits of cold immersion on the immune system.

In the latest posts I describe my present protocol of cold plunging in an outside pool, originally installed for my son, who didn’t want to use it so I turned it into a cold plunge simply by not emptying it and keeping it hyperchlorated. This is this morning before the plunge. Outside temperature was 2 °C, water temperature 9 °C, I see it as a pretty moderate, harmless exposure.

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I fully agree, that’s another significant benefit. Exercising willpower is as useful as exercising skeletal muscles. It’s not so much to plunge into the water, which should be done very, very slowly and on an empty stomach. The real exercise of willpower is to stay into the water when the whole body screams to go out. Sometimes I yield to the screams just to avoid being partially paralyzed and not being able to climb out. Actually, if we want to exercise full willpower until near hypothermia, our plunge should be supervised.

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#20

Congratulations, that temperature range feels pretty cold

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