COLD WATER THERAPY... Cold showers, ice baths, cold swimming & more.

There tends to be 2 camps with stuff like this, lovers & haters. There’s the ‘OMG it’s the best thing since Turing invented the computer & it defines who I am’ people. Or there’s the ‘you’re having a crisis, will you just shut up about it please Darren’ people.

Full transparency: I probably sit nearer to the first camp as a cold shower lover. But am I correct? Are cold water techniques like ice baths as good as your uncle (who’s probably into cycling) tells you, or is it just a cult & am I just addicted to the buzz of it?

Cold therapy has been used in sport for years to counter the swelling that comes with injuries/hard sessions & increase blood flow for recovery. There’s an unbelievable amount of research behind it so we’re pretty certain it works, but what are the recreational benefits? Well, here’s the reasons most people will tell you to start swimming in your local duck pond:

1.    Increased circulation

2.    Immune system benefits

3.    Increased metabolism & weight loss boost

4.    Reduced stress/improved mental health

5.    Enhanced recovery & reduced inflammation

6.    Improved skin

Even as a practitioner of cold-water therapy, I suspect some of these may not be quite true. Here’s what the research says:

1.    Cold does seem to improve our circulation due to our body’s need to send warm blood to cold parts of the body (especially our central organs). This mainly happens through constriction of our blood vessels in the cold, sending as much blood as possible where we need it most. When we warm up again, the blood vessels open up & allow a rush of fresh, oxygenated blood to rush around our body.

2.    This process flushes out toxins & helps our cells to fight off disease. So yes, it does help your immune system too! The shock of the cold also keeps your immune system on its toes, leading to a constant production of antibodies to fight off illness. In fact, a National Institute of Health study found cold showers each morning over 60 days reduced sick days at work by 30%!

3.    Whilst true, this may be misleading. Cold therapy does increase metabolism (calories burnt in a day) due to the body working hard to maintain your temperature which burns calories. However, you will also feel hungrier after cold therapy, so you probably won’t end up any better off from a weight loss perspective.

4.    The claimed mental health benefits have become the biggest selling point of cold water methods in recent years. In fact, its growth has been so rapid that it’s created a £400million industry as of 2024 (with no signs of slowing)! The science says the following: Cold water submersion, especially as a shock, puts the body in a controlled high stress environment. This leads to a shock response which, when repeated, the body learns to deal with. This means the more times we get through it, the more our body learns not to overreact to the stressful stimulus. This then transfers to every other stressful experience in our lives, meaning we are calmer in those situations too. And that’s just half the story! It also stimulates the relevant parts of the brain to improve focus, mood & sleep quality. These claims have been proven in NHI studies on the topic showed the following:

5.    However, most of the research so far conducted is subjective based research (mainly questionnaires) & more is needed to be conclusive on the topic. That said, if you’ve ever tried a cold shower for 30 seconds, you’ll know first-hand how AMAZING you feel afterwards!

It would be remiss of me not to mention Wim Hof in this article as the self-proclaimed ‘Ice Man’. Whilst a lot of his techniques & methodologies aren’t yet properly science-backed; he has some interesting books out there which are worth reading if you want to learn more on this topic.

A good place to start if you want a taste of the hype is to turn your shower cold for the final 15 seconds each morning. Then 20 the following week, 25, 30 etc. until you reach 1 minute. I love it & benefit massively so you might too, thanks for reading another blog post! <3

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Elliot Hutchinson // 08.12.2024

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