Cold Therapy is a Thing

I’ve gone through cold shower phases on and off over the last couple years and have always found them to be invigorating. I like cold showers for a bunch of reasons, like:

• I feel increased energy and focus afterwards
• less energy use (to heat the water)
• shorter showers

But of course cold showers are not exactly fun when you’re taking them. Depending on how cold is cold, they can be downright painful. So I waver in my devotion to the cold shower.

In any case I always thought it was just a weird habit of mine. But recently I’ve come to notice a lot more people talking about exposure to cold as a beneficial exercise.

Apparently there’s a whole school of thought around “cold therapy”. Of course there’s the practice of applying cold locally to reduce swelling (the ‘I’ in R.I.C.E), but various sources also claim anecdotal evidence of improved focus, energy and general health related to full body cold exposure.

One prominent example that comes up a lot is the Wim Hof Method. I don’t know much about the Wim Hof Method as a whole (maybe a topic for a future post) but anecdotally I’ve seen it mentioned frequently in the context of cold therapy.

But this idea of benefits coming from cold immersion is supported by other sources too. This article from Runner’s World states that:

…a 2009 study in The New England Journal of Medicine found that immersing yourself in cold water after lifting, running, or cycling improved muscle recovery and soreness.

Runner’s World

…and…

The adrenaline rush you get from immersing yourself in cold water creates a rush of norepinephrine, which helps increase energy, focus, and performance outcomes.

Aaron Drogoszewski, quoted in Runner’s World

Here are a couple more resources from some quick Googling, each linking to some references of their own:

• Healthline: Cold Shower Benefits for Your Health
• Women’s Health: I Took Cold Showers Every Morning For A Week—Here’s What Happened

It’s enough to give me motivation to keep experimenting with cold showers at least some of the time. Have you tried cold showers? What’s your experience?