When most of us think of taking a shower or a bath, using cold water instead of the typical warm or hot water doesn’t sound as appealing, which of course is understandable. However, a new emerging health trend proposes an unconventional approach an unconventional approach to your typical bathing, soaking, or showering routine…cold water therapy. Cold water therapy is the practice of showering with or soaking in cold water that is around 59 degrees Fahrenheit or colder in order to treat various health conditions or stimulate health benefits. Alternatively known as cold hydrotherapy, this practice has been around for hundreds of years but has gained recent notoriety as famous athletes, celebrities, and fitness enthusiasts have began adopting it for its noted health benefits. So what does the science say about this new health trend? And why is it becoming so popular?
Aside from its purported health benefits, part of this health therapy’s rise in popularity is due to the many ways you can choose to perform it. Methods for utilizing cold water therapy or cold hydrotherapy include ice baths, cold daily showers, outdoor swimming, and cold water immersion sessions. Due to this variety of options, cold water therapy is easy to work into even the busiest of schedules and make a part of any daily health routine. But what is the benefit to adding this into your routine? Some of the purported health benefits of cold water therapy include improved circulation, deeper sleep, higher energy levels, decreased depression/anxiety symptoms, and reduced inflammation throughout the body. While anecdotal evidence supports these claims, what does the data say?
Although researchers are still debating some of the findings, studies indicate that athletes who soak in cold water for short periods of time after exercise experience less muscle soreness later on. A small study conducted by Queensland Academy of Sports’ Centre of Excellence for Applied Sport Science Research in Brisbane, Australia, found that “cyclists who completed intense training sessions had decreased soreness after they were immersed in cold water for 10 minutes”. A 2023 study published by UCLA Orthopedic Health (University of California-Los Angeles), discovered that even just 5-10 minutes in a cold shower can bolster your immunity to common colds, combat symptoms of depression, improve circulation, increase your metabolism, reduce inflammation/prevent muscle soreness, and relieve localized pain. According to Sharon Hame MD and UCLA Health orthopedic surgeon, “Cold showers are a convenient way for a weekend warrior, amateur athlete or anyone who enjoys exercise to get some of the benefits of cold therapy after a workout.”
So how does cold therapy work and where do the health benefits come from? Well the answer depends on the connected health benefit. It’s immunity boosting benefits come from the stimulation of blood cells that fight off infection (leukocytes), improved circulation from cold therapy is thought to stem from your bodies physiological response to being cold known as your, “survival mode”, making your body use energy to increase blood flow and begin burning calories in order to stay warm. This is also what causes a spike in your metabolism since the increased strain on your body in order to pump more blood and burn fat for warmth, causes a small amount of caloric burn. The reported reduction in inflammation and soreness from cold therapy stems from your blood vessels tightening (vasoconstriction) causing your blood to become naturally oxygen and nutrient-rich during the process. As your body heats up again, your blood vessels expand bringing that oxygenated blood back to your tissues and flushing out excess inflammation which is the root cause of soreness.
According to Dr. Hame, cold therapy works for relieving localized pain and injuries in a similar fashion. While it alleviates the physical inflammation your body is experiencing, it also interferes with your brain’s perception of pain. Dr. Hame states, “If you’ve ever been given cold spray before an injection it works by decreasing how quickly the pain sensation travels through your nerves.” Essentially, by delaying how fast your nerves communicate the sensation of pain to the pain receptors in your brain, the overall amount of pain you feel is lessened during this process. As for cold therapy’s effects on depression, research conducted by Nikolai Shevchuk of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, found that participants who took daily cold showers for several months reported decreased depression symptoms but given the small sample size more research needed to be conducted.
Although this new health trend shows a lot of promise in treating a variety of ailments, it is clear more research will be done in the coming years to discover just how beneficial it is. With that being said, cold therapy is a very easy and safe health treatment to work into your schedule and one that seems to only be rising in popularity. If you’re thinking of adding cold therapy to your routine we encourage you consult with your doctor and that you gradually warm up your body after soaking or swimming in cold water to prevent hypothermia and other possible negative effects. We also recommend that you keep any cold therapy sessions brief as you experiment to find which method suits you best. Enjoy your first plunge and don’t let the cold scare you away!
Works Cited:
Hame, S. (2023, January 25). 6 cold shower benefits to consider. UCLA Health System. https://www.uclahealth.org/news/6-cold-shower-benefits-consider
Yeung, S. S., Ting, K. H., Hon, M., Fung, N. Y., Choi, M. M., Cheng, J. C., & Yeung, E. W. (2016, January). Effects of cold water immersion on muscle oxygenation during repeated bouts of fatiguing exercise: A randomized controlled study. Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4706272/
G. Minnis and R. Stanborough. (2023, March 10). Cold water therapy: Benefits of cold showers, baths, immersion therapy. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/cold-water-therapy#bottom-line
JM;, S. J. M. (n.d.). The effect of post-exercise hydrotherapy on subsequent exercise performance and Heart Rate Variability. European journal of applied physiology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21710292/
Nikolai A. Shevchuk. Adapted cold shower as a potential treatment for depression. Medical Hypotheses. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S030698770700566X?via%3Dihub
Esperland, D., de Weerd, L., & Mercer, J. B. (2022, December). Health effects of voluntary exposure to cold water – a continuing subject of debate. International journal of circumpolar health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9518606/
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