Is cold water bath good for health in winter?

The winter months can be challenging physically and emotionally as the days become shorter and darker earlier. Many people suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), symptoms of depression, lack of motivation to stay active, comfort eating and weight gain, among other things, when the cold weather hits.

Ice baths have entered the wellness space and provide many benefits, including an immune and metabolism boost. Keep reading to discover the benefits of cold water therapy in winter.

📝 What is cold water therapy?

Cold therapy (also known as cold plunge) is a controlled exposure to cold temperatures that helps your body adapt to stress. It sounds intense but it’s short-term comfort for long-term resilience. It can be described as giving your nervous system a boost.

📝 How does it regulate the nervous system?

Cold therapy is all about the activation of the vagus nerve a part of the parasympathetic nervous sometimes thought of as the chill-out part of your body’s response system.

When you put your body into cold water, you expose it to controlled, short-term stress which helps your body learn how to recover from stress quicker. This process is called hormesis. Think of it as a mini workout for your nervous system.

🥶 What are the different types of cold water therapy?

Ice baths or cold plunging

Often used for recovery after intense physical activity, ice baths involve plunging the body up to the neck in ice-cold water for a few minutes. The water temperature is normally below 60°F (15°C), with some preferring temperatures as low as 33.8°F (1°C).

Cold showers

The most convenient way is for most people to take cold showers. Similar to ice baths, but easier to incorporate into daily routines. Gradually turning the water from warm to cold at the end of the shower

Open water swimming

This form involves cold water swimming in rivers, lakes, or oceans

Cryotherapy chambers

Though they do not involve water, cryotherapy chambers are a controlled and regulated environment where you stay completely dry and able to move about in. The body is exposed to extremely cold air temperatures for brief periods, stimulating a physiological response similar to that achieved through water immersion

Choosing the type, temperature, and duration of cold therapy depends on your cold tolerance and the resources available to you.

🚿 How to use your shower as cold therapy

Here is a way to use your shower at home for cold water therapy:

• Set the shower to be as cold as it can go
• Start with 30 seconds of cold water, to begin with, and progress to a minute, then two minutes and finally three minutes
• Sometimes it’s recommended to alternate between hot water and cold water. A hot shower for three minutes, followed by a cold shower for one minute. Repeating this pattern three times ensuring you always end with the cold

⚕️ Health benefits of bathing in cold water during winter

It enhances blood circulation

Cold showers allow blood to move to your organs to keep you warm. This forces the body to work harder to maintain its core body temperature. Bathing with cold water can help strengthen the arteries and lower blood pressure. Improved circulation can contribute to better cardiovascular health

Improves skin and hair

A cold shower can minimise skin inflammation by constricting blood vessels. When applied to the face cold therapy shrinks blood vessels effectively reducing puffiness, especially around the eyes. The cold effect can also temporarily shrink pores, leaving skin looking smoother and more refined. The boosting of blood circulation stimulates blood flow, giving skin a healthy natural glow and revitalising the complexion

Boosts immunity

Bathing in cold water boosts immune function by increasing the production of white blood cells, blood concentrations of catecholamines and metabolic rate. This is because the body tries to warm itself up during a cold shower, releasing white blood cells and activating the immune system which protects the body from disease. A 2016 study showed that participants were 29% less likely to need to call in sick to work when regularly taking cold showers

Muscle recovery and inflammation

Exposure to cold causes blood vessels to constrict, reducing blood flow to injured areas which helps reduce swelling, inflammation and flush out waste products that contribute to muscle soreness. As it boosts the immune response it also produces more anti-inflammatory chemicals and less pro-inflammatory cytokines. Aching muscles and joints and underlying inflammatory issues can be assisted with cold therapy

Help with symptoms of depression

While the physical benefits are great, the effects of cold water on mental health are also beneficial. Cold water has a positive effect on mood, stress and well-being. It causes an increase in parasympathetic activity, reducing cortisol and increasing levels of the neurotransmitters dopamine and the feel-good hormone, endorphins

Help with weight loss and metabolism

Cold water immersion activates brown fat in the body, also known as brown adipose tissue. Brown fat helps you burn more calories by creating heat right before your body starts to shiver (thermogenesis). Repeated cold exposure daily for 4 weeks has been shown to result in a 45% increase in brown adipose tissue activity and a two-fold increase in burning more energy/calories (oxidative metabolism). Brown fat can help control blood sugar, improve insulin levels and metabolic health

Increases mental alertness and decreases fatigue

As mentioned earlier cold water can improve circulation and oxygen flow to the brain which in turn can enhance cognitive function and alertness

🩺 Seek medical advice before cold water therapy

Bathing in cold water may not be suitable if you suffer from health conditions. As mentioned cold water immersion affects your blood pressure, heart rate, and circulation, and it can cause a heart attack. Do not take a cold water bath, if you have a fever, heart disease, or even high blood pressure (hypertension) as doing so can worsen your health. Always speak to your healthcare provider for medical advice before attempting cold water therapy.

Sources

• 6 cold shower benefits to consider – UCLA Health
• Cold Showers Lead to Fewer Sick Days
• The improvement of cognitive deficits after whole-body cryotherapy – A randomised controlled trial – PubMed
• Cold Water Immersion Directly and Mediated by Alleviated Pain to Promote Quality of Life in Indonesian with Gout Arthritis: A Community-based Randomized Controlled Trial – PubMed
• Adapted cold shower as a potential treatment for depression – PubMed
• Health effects of voluntary exposure to cold water – a continuing subject of debate – PMC