What is Cold Therapy?

Cold plunge, ice bath, cold shower, even going into a cold lake or the ocean can be considered cold therapy. But what’s all the rage about? Are there actual benefits, or is it just pseudoscience? The answer to all of these questions will be answered soon, but first, the explanation to what cold therapy is. Cold therapy is when you deliberately immerse yourself in water that is 59°F or below. That may not sound like it is very cold, but your body runs around 98.6°F. This cold temperature is well below your natural body temperature, which is what causes the discomfort.

Why Do Cold Therapy?

Cold water therapy is by no means a fun activity. But, to grow and thrive in life, you must do hard things. Cold water therapy is hard. But the benefits speak for themselves. Building this habit can be the most time-efficient and effective way to feel better daily. You experience a host of benefits with as little at 11 minutes a week of exposure.

Benefits:

• Increased Metabolism
• Enhanced Mood
• Sleep Quality
• Decreased Inflammation
• Building Mental Resilience
• Increased Energy/Focus
• Better Muscle Recovery

Dopamine Increase (Enhanced Mood/Increased Energy and Focus)

Dopamine is the chemical in your brain that is capable of elevating mood, enhancing focus, attention, goal-directed behavior, etc. Many activities cause a spike in dopamine (food, video games, vape, drugs, social media). But this is a short-lived spike that is followed by a crash. The crash is equivalent to the pleasure the activity evoked. However, many studies have shown that the dopamine increase associated with cold water therapy is a prolonged release of dopamine. This increase can last up to 2 or 3 hours. How cool is that!

Protocol

The general rule of thumb for any safe practice of cold exposure is for the water to be uncomfortably cold yet safe. Water that you can get into and think “I really want to get out” but be able to safely stay in. The water should never be so cold to where it causes pain.

That being said, there are two protocols that you can reap the most mental and physical benefits from.

Protocol 1:

The Huberman Lab calls this the “counting walls” approach. This protocol claims that during cold exposure, you hit “walls”. This is friction in your mind in body, with your inner voice telling you to “GET OUT”. This is good and what you want. These are mental barriers. The walls are adrenaline pushes in the brain and body, this is what causes eventual adaptation. What to do when you hit these “walls” is to push through that initial discomfort. Walls will happen before you get in, and at different points while being immersed. A good practice is to get past 3-5 walls during a session. This approach goes better with how daily life is. As you do this practice, you are training your brain and body to overcome the initial discomfort of doing hard things, building resiliency and grit.

Protocol 2:

Another optimal option is to stay in the water to the point of shivering. Shivering is your body trying to warm itself up. This leads to adaptation. Once you start shivering, allow your body to warm itself naturally. This activates brown fat, which is the type of fat that burns calories in response to cold immersion. Lastly, as I mentioned earlier, even little amounts of cold exposure can stimulate the dopamine increase. These two protocols are for adaptation of the body and mind, if you just want a little dopamine increase, go for less time.

The best times to do this are in the morning for the natural energy increase. Try and avoid immersion right before bed as it can effect sleep. Ideally, you want to do cold exposure for 11-15 minutes a week.

NOTE: you can take a warm shower before cold immersion. I like to take my normal shower, then turn the water as cold as it goes for 3 minutes before I get out.

Cold Therapy To Me

I talk about doing hard things. Mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually. I truly think this mindset has been a foundational change in my life. Choosing the hard path, the one that leads to growth. Daily. It is why I started The Improvement Scene. To show people how they can change their lives for the better by intentionally choosing the harder path that leads to more fulfillment and growth. I personally take cold showers, and they have changed my days. I experience the 2-3 hour dopamine release in the morning, and it’s a game changer for energy and mood. Try out this daily discipline. It could be the catalyst for the positive change you need in your life.