Cold Plunge Benefits: What You Should Know
Ready to take the plunge? Or do you need a little more convincing? From faster workout recovery to a natural mood boost, the potential benefits of a cold plunge are exciting. Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or just curious about adding a chill factor to your routine, discover what a quick dip into cold water can do for you.
Not quite sure what a cold plunge is? We have an entire blog explaining it!
9 Amazing Cold Plunge Benefits
1. Cold plunges enhance workout recovery
By reducing muscle soreness and swelling, cold plunges have helped many athletes recover quicker, especially when they have back-to-back workouts or events. The chilly experience cools the body, lowering inflammation and allowing muscles to recover faster. However, if your goal is to build muscle mass, be careful, plunging immediately after some resistance training might slow strength gains.
2. Cold plunges boost circulation
By causing blood vessels in your extremities to constrict and drawing blood toward the core, cold plunging improves circulation. Once out of the water, blood flows back through the body, enhancing oxygen and nutrient delivery to tissues. With time, regular cold exposure may even lead to lasting improvements in circulation by encouraging microvascular adaptations, who knew!
3. Cold plunges increase metabolic rate
Cold exposure can increase your metabolic rate by activating brown fat, a type of fat that burns energy to generate heat. Cold plunges can also help regulate blood sugar levels. While more research is needed, preliminary findings suggest that this metabolic boost could lead to better blood sugar control and weight loss.
4. Cold plunges reduce inflammation
One of the main reasons athletes use cold plunges is to reduce inflammation. Cold water immersion helps control inflammation, which leads to point 1 of this list. By lowering the inflammatory response, cold plunges help with injury recovery and reduce the risk of chronic inflammation, which is linked to various diseases.
5. Cold plunges fortify the immune system
Cold plunging boosts the immune system by prompting the body to produce more immune cells. Regular cold exposure can reduce the frequency and severity of illnesses by preparing the immune system to respond more effectively.
6. Cold plunges boost mood and mental health
Cold plunges have positive effects on mental health because they promote the release of dopamine and serotonin. These “feel-good” chemicals can lift your mood and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression over time.
7. Cold plunges offer pain relief
The practice has long been used to reduce swelling. Unsurprisingly, the cold is also known to numb affected areas, offering relief from acute pain. By controlling swelling and inflammation, cold plunges can also help prevent long-term joint and tissue damage.
8. Cold plunges build stress resilience
Cold plunging is a hormetic stressor, which means it induces a small amount of stress that ultimately strengthens the body’s stress response. Over time, cold exposure can increase resilience to other stressors, helping the body manage mental and physical stress more effectively.
9. Cold plunges improve heart health
By reducing the heart rate, cold exposure benefits cardiovascular health and improves blood flow. Regular cold plunges can strengthen the cardiovascular system over time by encouraging the heart to pump more efficiently which can contribute to better heart function and a reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases.
So, will you dive in?
