In people’s perception, when we want to take a bath, our first choice must be a hot bath, because people think that hot baths are good for the human body whether it is winter or summer. However, there are also studies that prove that bathing in cold water is also good for human health.
Ice baths, also known as cold plunge or cold therapy, are a form of cryotherapy, but less extreme. The recommended water temperature for an ice bath is actually 8-15°C, which is cold enough to cool your body down and make your brain clear, but far from reaching freezing point yet.
1.What’s the benefits of the ice bath?
Generally speaking, after a large amount of exercise, our bodies will experience muscle soreness. Muscle soreness depends on the degree of fatigue. Mild muscle soreness and exercise fatigue can be treated with hot compress after rest, which accelerates blood circulation and promotes the elimination of acidic metabolites in the muscles to relieve soreness. If it is severe muscle soreness or muscle strain caused by high-intensity exercise, immediate hot compress will not only not relieve the soreness, but will intensify the pain. When there is congestion in the affected area, cold water therapy is effective.
(1) Ice Baths Can Help Muscles Recover After a Hard Workout
When exposed to cold water, our blood vessels constrict and get smaller. And when we get out from the cold water, the change in temperature causes blood vessels to rapidly re-open, which can help to flush the muscles’ metabolic waste products. The rapid dilation of the blood vessels also delivers much-needed oxygen and nutrients to the muscles, this is the theory how the ice bath works to recover after a hard workout.
(2) Ice Baths Can Help Prevent Muscle Soreness
Evidence shows that immersion in an ice bath after intense exercise can reduce the onset of delayed muscle soreness compared to basic rest. The ice bath achieve this by decreasing inflammation.
(3) Ice Baths Can Help Cool the Body Down
The obvious benefits of an ice bath is that it will help your body cool down fast. One study published in the Journal of Athletic Training found that taking a cold bath (very similar to an ice bath) can help relieve exertional hyperthermia. At the same time, full immersion therapy was even more effective in reducing high temperature of the body.
(4) Ice Baths Can Boost the Mental Health
Ice baths also good to potential mental health. People find ice bath is rather the challenge than regarding it as an pleasant at first. In fact, it can be frankly painful at the first time for people who haven’t try it before. However, this improves with relaxing, focusing on your breathing, and even some distraction. Over time, many people will build up a tolerance for the cold. They will come to find it an important part of their recovery process after their body get used to the cold temperature. This resilience and adaptation have obvious applications elsewhere in exercise, sport, and life, high quality life will more easy to be gained by people.
(5) Ice Baths Can Improve Your Sleep
From the experience of the fitness enthusiast, ice baths may help improve the sleep. The cold bath can have a positive effect on the central nervous system, which helps to sleep and feel better after spending 10-15 minutes in it.
(6) Ice Baths Can Reduce Risk of Injury
Ice baths can assist with recovery and decrease soreness, which stimulates recovery, good physical condition will make your muscles more relaxed, which allows you to be better prepared for the next workout and help reduce your risk of injury.
(7) Ice Baths Can Help Boost Your Immunity
There is some scientific evidence that ice baths work as an immunity booster. One 2016 study published in the journal PLoS One found that people who take cold showers are almost 30 percent less likely to call in sick for work or school
2.What you need to prepare for an ice bath:
Before you having a cold plunge, timing is always crucial, experience confirmed that 24-48 hours right after your workout, within this time, your muscles are screaming to get cooled, and the healing can happen after the ice bath. One of the questions you may face before taking an ice bath is how to prepare your body for an ice bath. If you have never done this before, starting this journey will be quite a challenge, well prepare before the ice bath is needed, our suggest will be:
(1) A good quality bathtub which can be used indoors or outdoors for cold baths.
(2) Dry, warm clothes to wear after an ice bath.
(3) Bathrobe/shorts or a T-shirt for wearing during the bath to protect your skin during the ice bath.
(4) Alarm setting to time your cold plunge advance to ensure you don’t stay too long to get hurt. 15 minutes is suitable which is the maximum recommended time for this type of treatment. If you’re a newcomer, start with 3-5 minutes are recommended.
3.How to take a safe cold shower?
Ice bahts have significant benefits for our body, but the safety of the body is necessary to be paid attention to, that can ensure the best benefits after each bath. How to take a safe ice bath includes:
(1) Set the temperature of the ice bath tub with the right temperature:
According to researchers, it is recommended to apply the reciprocal heat bath method, that is, take a warm bath first, and then switch to a cold water bath for the body to relax. Sauna is also recommended to be taken to help relax before starting the ice bath. Alternating between hot and cold can enhance your body’s adaptability to temperature changes，make our body gradually adapt to the temperature and help our body to ready. The time of cold water bath can be changed slowly, from about 30 seconds to 1 minute and then gradually increase the time, depending on the body’s ability to respond. When you get used to it, you can bath with cold water for 5-10 minutes after bathing with hot water.
(2) In the process of bathing with ice bath, it is advisable to adapt by starting each part of the body.
Should start from the legs, then the hands, then the abdomen, then the chest,..（The area above the neck in an ice bath generally does not recommend immersing) Some people with weakened immune systems or heart disease should consult a doctor, do not arbitrarily take cold showers to avoid endangering the body.
While the concept of a post-workout cold plunge may not appeal to everyone, an ice bath can be good tool for post-workout recovery that anyone can take advantage of. Taking 10 to 15 minutes, submerging a limb or the entire body into an ice bath tub for recovery is becoming an increasingly popular ceremony among athletes and hardcore exercisers.
There are news reports that after a tennis match, win or lose, Britain’s No.
1 Andy Murray takes a shower, has some food and drink, gets a massage, and ends his routine with an ice bath. He sat in ice water at 8-10C (46-50F) for eight minutes. He’s not the only athlete to use ice baths after games to aid recovery. Heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill used to stand in a wheeled box filled with ice water (pictured below) to build muscle. The success of these athletes and others using this technique shows that ice baths are effective, but whether it is a heat or ice bath, we need to choose the appropriate method on an individual basis, make ice baths best serve our physical and mental health. If you have any questions please contact us info@coldchiller.com
Our coldchiller cold plunge chiller can be matched with various styles of cold plunge tubs
