Why More People Are Taking the Cold Plunge (And Why You Might Want To)
The practice of cold plunging is beginning to grow in popularity in the wellness space. Maybe you have seen videos online of people submerging themselves in ice-cold tubs or frozen lakes in the name of health and wondered if the benefits are really all that great. Maybe you’ve even been curious to try it out for yourself.
So, what is cold plunging? Cold plunging is the practice of submerging oneself in cold water, typically anywhere between 60-38 degrees Fahrenheit, for a specified amount of time - usually between two and five minutes. Cold plunging trains resilience, which can be defined as the body’s ability to bounce back from stressors or challenges. Consider cold plunging as similar to strength training in the gym: it can be beneficial to put yourself under intentional and healthy stress on a regular basis for a specified period of time, in order to strengthen your heart and your body’s adaptability.
Consider cold plunging as similar to strength training in the gym: it can be beneficial to put yourself under intentional and healthy stress on a regular basis for a specified period of time, in order to strengthen your heart and your body’s adaptability.
Though some may think of it as a newer fad, cold plunging actually dates back to 3500 BC, with the first mention of cold water immersion discovered in the Edwin Smith Papyrus. This document tells us that cold plunging at that time was used for therapeutic purposes. Additionally, ancient Greeks were known to use cold water immersion for relaxation and socialization. Today, cold plunging is once more gaining popularity, thanks to figures such as Wim Hof, who was successful in spreading his message of the benefits of cold plunge, even involving celebrities and other well-known figures in trying out his methods.
With so many people jumping on the bandwagon, you may be wondering, what are the benefits of cold plunging? First and foremost, cold plunging can help regulate your body’s stress reactions. Submersion in cold water triggers a release of adrenaline, which prepares you for fight or flight. As you stay submerged in the cold water, this release of adrenaline is eventually countered by norepinephrine, the hormone that counteracts adrenaline and regulates stress reactions. Routine cold plunging can speed up the body’s reaction time to stress and help it distinguish the difference between actual high stress and lower stress situations. Additionally, when you cold plunge, your blood vessels constrict in order to conserve energy, resulting in stronger blood vessels and lower inflammation markers (citation).
Like the sauna, the cold plunge is a unique amenity to us because it earns each of the badges, meaning it supports wellbeing in each of the areas we pay the most attention to: Cognitive Performance, Respiratory Health, Emotional Sustainability, Cardiovascular Health, Circadian Health, and Resilience. Here’s how it earns each of the badges:
Cognitive Performance - Cold plunging boosts dopamine, which assists memory, concentration and other cognitive tasks (1) (2).
Respiratory Health - People that frequently immersed themselves in cold water for cold water swims suffered from fewer respiratory infections (or if they did, that the respiratory infections had a shorter duration) than healthy peer equivalents who did not cold plunge (4).
Emotional Sustainability - Studies as recent as 2024 have shown that groups who cold plunged were correlated with better mental health than control groups (5).
Cardiovascular Health - Cold plunging has been found to reduce heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol levels for up to 180 minutes following the cold plunge (6).
Circadian Rhythm - The boost in norepinephrine triggered by cold plunging may help to stabilize the circadian rhythm by acting as a manual internal wake-up signal (7) (8).
Resilience - Cold plunging speeds up muscle recovery and reduces soreness. Additionally, cold plunging triggers norepinephrine, which could be an important factor in reducing pain. Finally, it activates the parasympathetic nervous system, regulating the fight-or-flight response (9) (10) (11) (12).
Please note: cold plunging is not for everyone. We recommend that if you have a preexisting heart or circulation condition, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, poor circulation, venous stasis, or cold agglutinin disease, you should avoid cold plunging until speaking with your doctor. Even for people who do not have any of these conditions, it is highly recommended to ease the body into the practice, sitting in slightly warmer water for less time and gradually increasing the intensity of the plunge with each session.
Though cold plunging can be daunting, there are clear benefits to cold plunging, and it is a tool that we at Frequency believe can make a big difference in your overall health and wellbeing.